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Saints 


Iftev.  3©bn  Canon  ©TDanlcn 

m  m.  %  a. 


Efee-*-*^ 


LIVES 


OF 


THE    IRISH    SAINTS, 


WITH 


Jfyccial  Jejsttoate,  and  the  (fommemwatitftt*  of  goly  gerrttf, 

COMPILED    FROM 

P^iimis,  ||aiitg!ialngiC5,  nutt  |apii8  %nrmi 

RELATING    TO 

€\)t  grirfent  Cfturrl)  fii'ston?  of  fielantr, 


BY    THE 

VERY  REV.  JOHN  CANON  O'HANLON,  M.R.I.A, 

Vol.    VII.  <-    K  ' 


M 


Dublin:  James  Duffy  and  Sons,  15  Wellington-quay,  and 
la  Paternoster-row,  London. 

London:  Burns,  Oates,  and  Co.,  17  &  18  Portman-street,  and 

63  Paternoster-row,  E.C. 

New  York:  The  Catholic  Publishing  Society, 

9  Warren-street. 


\_ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED.'] 


DOLLARD,    TRINTINGHOUSE,    DUBLIN. 


6X 

v.1 


C  O  N  T  E'N  T  S 


JFtrst    ©atj    of    3ulg. 

+ 


Article  T.— St.  Rumold,  Apostle  and  Bishop  of  Mechlin,  Belgium.  [Eighth 
Ce/ifnry.] 

Chap.    I. — Introduction — Ancient  and  Modern  Writers   of  St. 
Rumold's     Acts — Nativity    and    Parentage    of    St. 
Rumold— His  Birth  the  Fruit  of  Prayer — His    early 
Piety — Angelic   Communications — St.  Rumold    de- 
votes himself  to  a  Life  of  Celibacy — On  the  Death  of 
Gualafer,  he  is  nominated   and  elected  Archbishop 
of  Dublin — Remarks  on   the  dubious  Character  of 
these  Statements   ...  ...  ...         1 

Chap.  II. — Rumold  consents  to  accept  the    Episcopal   Charge 
and  he  is  duly  consecrated—  His  Labours  as  a  Bishop 
— Establishment  of  the  Christian  Faith  in  Dublin — 
An   Angel  admonishes  St.  Rumold  to  seek  a  more 
distant  Field  for  his  Administrations — He  leaves  Ire- 
land   for    England,    and    then    visits    France — He 
travels    to  Rome — His  Interview  with  the  Pope — 
Recommended  to  visit  Belgium  as  the  future  Scene 
for  his  Career — Miracles — Favourably    received    at 
Mechlin  by  Count  Ado — Birth  of  his  Son  Libertus — 
The  latter   miraculously  restored   to  Life — Rumold 
commences  the  Erection  of  a  Cell  at  Mechlin,  and 
there  builds  a  Church  in  Honour  of  the  Protomartyr 
St.  Stephen  ...  ..  ...        9 

CHAP.  III. — His  Disciple  Libertas  obtains  the  Crown  of  Martyr- 
dom— Labours  of  St.    Rumold — His    Martyrdom — 
Miracles  after  his  Death — Cathedral  of  Mechlin — 
Veneration    in    this     City — Honours    paid    to    St. 
Rumold — Commemorations   of  his  Festivals — Con- 
clusion ...  •••  ...       iS 
Article  II. — St.  Servan,  Serb,  Serf,  or  Scran,  Apostolic  Missionary  in  Scotland. 

[Fifth  or  Sixth  Centu/y.]  ...  ...  ...       26 

Article  III. — St.  Ailill  of  Cloonown,  County  of  Roscommon,  thought  to  have  been 

Second  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  County  of  Armagh  ...       31 

Article  IV.  — St.    Cuimmein,  Bishop  of  Nendrum,   or  Mahee  Island,   County  of 

Down.     [Seventh  Century. ~\         ...  ...  ...       31 

Article  V.— St.  Cathbadhor  Cathfadh  ...  ,      ...  ...       32 

Article  VI.— St.  Lugid  or  Lughaidh,  Son  of  Lugeus  or  Lughaidh  ...       32 

Article  VII.— St.  Ultan  ...  ...  ...  ..      33 

Article  VIII.— St.  Sineall,  or  Sillin  ...  ...  •••       33 

Article  IX.— St.  Barrinu  or  Bairrfhinn  ...  ...  •••       33 

Article  X.— St.  Connan  ...  ...  ...  .    •••       34 

Article  XL— St.  Ernin  ...  ...  ...  ••        34 

Article  XII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Tarnanus,  Bishop  of  Li-more,  Scotland         ...       34 
Article  XIIL—  St.  Emant,  of  Cluain  ...     '  ...  •••       34 

Article  XIV.— Festival  of  Aaron,  First  Priest  of  the  Mosaic  Law  ...       34 

Article  XV.— Feast  of  Mary       ...  ...  ...  •••       35 

Article  XVI.— Festival  of  Saints  Simon  and  Thaddaeus  ...  ...       35 


COX  IE  NTS. 


Srconti  Sag  of  3ulg. 

Page 

Artici  woo,  or  Ternoc.  of  Cluain-mor  ...  ...  35 

ARTICLE  II.— The   Daughter  or  Daughters  of  Cathbath,  or  Cathbadh,  of  Airedh 

F  tha  ..  ...  ...  ...  36 

i.     Reputed   Festival  of  St.  Caucus,  among  the  Ilebrideans,  Scotland. 

[Sixth  Century]  ...  ...  ...  37 

Article  IV.— Festival  of  St.  Euticus,  Martyr,  at  Rome  ...  ...  37 

ARTICLE  V. — Feast  of  Saints  Processus  and  Martinianus,  Martyrs  at  Rome  ...  37 


JCijtrtf  Dag  of  3ulg* 


Article  I. — St.   German,  First    Bishop    of    the    Isle    of    Man.      Fifth 

Century, .]  ...  ...  ...  •  ••37 

Article    II.— St.  Guha^on,    Confessor,   in    Belgium.      [Probably  in  the  Eighth 

Century.]  ...  ...  ...  ...      41 

Article  III.— St.  Cilline,  orCillen,  Droicteach,  Abbot  of  Iona,  Scotland.     [Eighth 

Century.]  ...  ...  ...  ...      43 

ARTICLE  IV. — St.  Tirechan,  Bishop.    [Seventh  Century.]  ...  ...      44 

.  —St.  Dartinne  or  Tartinna,  of  Druimard,  or  ofCill-aird,  in  Ui-Garrchon, 

County  of  Wieklow  ...  ...  ...       46 

ARTICLE  VI.— St  Mielmuire  or  Marianus  Ua  Gormain,  better  known  as 
M  nanus  O'Gorman,  the  Irish  Martyrologist,  Abbot  of 
Knock,  near  Lughmhagh,  now  Louth,  County  of  Louth.    [Twelfth 

fury.]  ...  ...  ...  ...      47 

Article  VII. — St  Ultan    ...  ...  ...  ...      49 

:  1.  Y 1 1 1. —Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Kenuinus,  Abbot  in  Ireland...  ...  49 

St  Colmari           ...                       ...  ...  ...  49 

Article  X. — Reputed  Festival  of  St.   RuaiOld,  Martyr,  and  Patron  of  Mechlin, 

ium             ...                       ...  ...  ...  49 

Article  XL— St.  Breacnat,  Virgin                      ...  ...  49 

LIL— Feast  of  St  Thomas' Translation  ...  ...  50 

Article  XIII; — Festival  of  St  Cyrion,  Martyr  at  Alexandria  ...  ...  so 


JFourtI)  ©ag  of  3ulg« 


Article  I.— St.  Bolcan  of  Kilcoolev,  County  of  Roscommon.    [Probably  in 

the  Fifth  Century.]  ...  ...  ...  50 

[I.— St  Finbarr  or  Fionubharr,  Abbot  of  Into  Doimhle,  County  of  Wex- 
ford.    [Sixth  Century.]  ...  ...  ...  52 

tst of  St.  Martin's  Ordination     ...  ...  ...  53 

ARTICLE  IV.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Siluenieus  at  Kilreule,  in  Scotland  ...  54 

Article  V.— Reputed  Feast  of  St  Modwenn^     ...  ...  54 

Article  YI. — Translation  of  the  Relics  of  St.  I"  ...  ...  54 

ARTICLE  VII.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Marianus,  Confessor  and  Abbot,  at  Rati-' 

[Eleventh  Century.]  ...  ...  55 

ARTICLE  YII  I. —Reputed  Translation  of  St.  Rumold's  Relics  ...  ...  55 


JWtij  Bag  of  3uht. 

A»ti<  '  rNAj  mod- 

ma,  MODOVRNA,   MOWENA,  MODVftNNA,  OR  NOD- 
vybnna,  Virgin.     [Probably  in  the  Ninth  Century.]  ...       55 

lania  orEtavin,  Virgin,  ofTuaim  "  i'mima,  in 

Moylurg,  County  of  Roscommon  ...      63 


CONTEXTS. 


Pag* 

Article  III. — St.  Fergus  Q'Huamalgh               ...                    ...  ...      65 

Article  IV.— St.  Ultan              ...                       ...                       ...  ...       65 

Article  V.— St.  Cillicn 

Article  VI.— St.  Ruraoldus                                  ...                       ...  ...       66 

Article  VII. — Feast  of  St.  Agatha  and  of  her  Companions,  Martyr,  ...       66 

Article  VIII- Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Alea,  or  Athca                      ...  ...       66 

Article  IX. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Boniface,  Bishop  and  Martyr    ..  ..66 


Sixty  ©atJ  of  3ulu. 

Article   I.— St.    Palladius,    Apostle    of  the    Scot.^    and    Picts.      \Ftflh 
( 'cutury.] 
Chap.  I. — Introduction— Authorities  for  the  Life  of  St.  Palladius 
— His  disputed  Origin — His  earliest  Mission  to  Britain 
and  his  Success  in  stemming  the  Pelagian  Heresy — 
Created  Archdeacon,  and    afterwards   selected  and 
consecrated    by    Pope  Celestine   I.    to  preach    the 
Gospel  among   the   Scots— He    arrives   in   Ireland, 
where  he  builds  some  Churches      ...  ...       67 

Chap.  II.— Opposition  experienced  by  St.  Palladius  in  Ireland 
—He  is  driven  away  by  Nathi— Other  Statements — 
His     reputed      Mission     in      North    Britain — His 
Death — His   Festivals  and   Commemorations — Con- 
clusion ...  ...  73 

Article  II. — St.   Darerca,    or   St.   Moninne,  Virgin,   of  Cill   Isleibhe,  now   Kil- 
leavy,    or   Slhbh  Cuillin,    County  "of  Armagh.      [Fifth  or  Sixth 
Century]  ...  ...  ...  ...   ■     79 

Chap.  I. — Introduction— Writers    of  the  Acts  of  St.  Darerca 
or  Moninne — Her  Family  and  Birth — Baptized,  con- 
firmed and  veiled  by  St.  Patrick—  She  is  called  upon 
to  form  an  Association  of  pious  Females — Under  the 
Direction  of  St,  Ibar— She  visits  St.  Brigid— -  Her  Con- 
gregration  at  Ardconais — This  Place  she  leaves,  and 
visits  St.  Brigid  a  second  Time      ...  ...       79 

Chapter  II. — St.  Darerca  goes  to  the  Northern  Parts  of  Ireland,  and 
founds  a  House  at  Fochard — This  Place  she  leaves  to 
seek  a  new  Settlement  at  Slieve  Gullion— Her  Estab- 
lishment    at    Killevy— Her-    personal    Virtues   and 
Miracles — She  is  to  be  distinguished  from  another 
St.   Modwenna,  venerated  chiefly   in  England  and 
Scotland — Moninia  assists  at  the  Synod  of  Easdra — 
Account  of  her  Death — Her  Commemorations— Con- 
clusion ...  ...  •••       85 

Article  III.— St.  Mac  Earc,  Bishop  of  Donoghmore.     [Fifth  Century]  ...       93 

Article  IV.—  The  Three  Daughters  of  Maine.  St.  Dermor  or  Dermoria,  St.  Etne 

or  Ethnea,  and  St.  Cumana,  of  Airiudh  Bainne    ...  •••       95 

Article  V.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Dermor,  Daughter  of  Maine     ...  ...       96 

Article  VI. — Three  Daughters  of  Erni  or  Enuch  Dirmaigh  ...  ...       96 

Article  VII.— St.  Fedchonniad,  or  Fedhchu,  or  Uamadh  Fubi     ...  ...       96 

Article  VIII.— Reputed  Festival  of  a  St.  Fuidbech  ...  •••       97 

Article  IX.— St.  Flann  Mac  Cellach,  Bishop  of  Rechrann.     [Eighth  Century.]    ...       97 
Article  X. — Reputed  Feast  of  a  St.  Golinia,  or  Golina,  Virgin     ...  ...       97 

Article  XL— Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Silvester,  Companion  of  St.   Palladius,   in 

Marr,  Scotland  ...  ...  ...  •••       97 


Sebentlj  Bag  of  Sulg- 

Article  I.— St.  Maolruain  or  Maelruain,  Abbot  op  Tallaqh,  County  of 
Dublin.    [Eighth  Century.} 
Chap.  I.— Introduction— Parentage  and  Birth  of  St.  Madman— 
He  founds  a  Religious  Institute  at  Tallagh— Pescrip- 


CONTENTS. 


lion  of  the  Place — He  forms  a  Society  of  Culdees 
there— Anecdotes — Period  of  Foundation  ...       98 

Chap.  II— The  Literary  Compositions  of  St.  Maelruain — Death 
of  Ccallach,  and  his  Burial  at  Tamlacht — St.  /Engus 
the  Culdce  joins  his  Community — The  Culdees — The 
Rule  of  St.  Maelruain.  ...  ...     102 

CHAP,  III. — Eulogies  and  Sayings. of  St.  Maelruain — Only  Abbot 
at   Tallagh — Historic  Notices  of  the  Place — Death 
and   Burial  of  the  holy  Abbot  there — Local  Associa- 
tions—Conclusion... ...  ...     106 

Article  II.  -St.  Willibald,  First  Bishop  and  Patron  of  Aichstadt,  Germany.  {Eighth 

Century.]  ...  ...  ...  ...     110 

Article  III. — St.   Cronia,    Cronae  or  Croine   Beg,    Virgin,    of    Tempull-Crone, 

County  of  Donegal  ...  ...  ...     118 

Article  IV.—  St.  Comgell  or  Coimgell,  Virgin,  and  Daughter  to  Diarmaid  ...     118 

Article  V. — St.  Fiadabair,  or  Fiadhabhair,  of  Uachtar-achadh,  now  Ballinamore, 

County  Leitiim  ...  ...  ...     119 

Article  VI. — St.  Tingmaich  or  Trighmeach,  Bishop  ...  ...     119 

Article  VII.— Reputed  Festival  for  St.  Median  and  St.  Odhrain    ..  ...     119 

Article  VIII.— Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Boisilus  ...  ...  ...     121 

Article  IX. — Reputed  Festival  of  a  Translation  of  St.  Kentigern,  Bishop,  Scotlan  1     121 
Article  X.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Colman  ...  ..  ...     121 

Article  XI. — Reputed  Festival  for  a  Translation  of  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins 

and  Martyrs        ...  ...  ...  ...      121 

Article  XII.— Reputed    Festival    for    Saints    Wilchibaldns,    Disibodus,    Kalian, 

Bibianus,  Totnanus  ...  ...  ...      121 

Article  XIII.— Reputed  Festival  of  a  St.  Bice     ...  ...  ...     122 


1£u$!)uj  Bajj  of  3ulg. 


Article  I.— The  Acts  of  St.  Kii.ian,  Apostle  of  Franconia,  Martyr  and 
Bishop,  as  also  of  his  Companions,  St.  Colman,  Priest,  and  St. 
Totnan,    Deacon,    Martyrs.     [Seventh  Century.} 

Chap.  I. — Introduction — Manuscript  and  published  Acts  of  those 
Holy    Martyrs— The    Country    of    their    Birth— St. 
Kilian's  Family  and  his  early  Education — He  em- 
braces the  Ecclesiastical  State — His  Preaching  and 
Labours  in  Ireland— With  eleven  other  Companions 
he  leaves  for  France   and   Germany — He  travels  to 
Wurtzbnrg — Paganism  there  prevailing  ...      122 

I  hap.  II. — The  Holy  Missionaries  preach  with  great  Effect  at 
YYuitzUirgh — Duke    (iosbert's     Conversion — Saints 
Kilian,    Colman    and  Totnan  journey   to    Rome — 
Favourably  received  by  Pope  Conan — Commissioned 
to  preach  the  Gospel    in    Franconia — Geilane,    the 
■f  Gosbert,  plans  their  Death — Martyrdom  of 
the  Saints— Remarkable  Visitations  of   God  on  all 
those  who  were  instrumental  in  it — Honours  after* 
wards  paid  to  their  Memory— Their  Relics—  Memo- 
rials of  the  Martyrs  in  Germany  and  in  Ireland,  and 
in  other  Countries — Their  Festivals — Conclusion     ...      128 
[J  —  St.  Disibod,  Bishop  and  Confessor.    [Seventh  and  Eighth  Cm- 
lit  lies.] 

Chap.  I. — Introduction—  State  of  Gcimany  in  pagan  and  early 
(  hristian  Times— Biographies  of  St.  Disen   or  St. 
Dysibod — His   Irish   Birth—His  youthful  Dispi 
UoBI  and  Education — Advanced  to  the  Priesthood  — 
Elected  as  Bishop — Trials  and  Difficulties  in  his  new 
Position — He  resolves  to  leave  Ireland  for  a  distant 
Country  ...  ...      143 

Chat.  II.— Travels     of    St.    Dysibod,    with    his    Companions 
Giswald,  Salust  and  Clement— A  Divine  Revels! 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

by  which  he  is  brought  to  select  a  Site  for  his   future 
Residence — His    monastic    and   missionary  Life    at 
.  Disenberg — lie  becomes  popular  among  the  Chiefs 
and  People  of  the  District  surrounding  it  ...     150 

Chap.  III. — Prophecies  of  St.  Disibod — His  declining  Years  and 
Approach  of  Dea,th — Dates  aligned  for  it — .Miracles 
which  afterwards  took   Place     Festivals  and  Memo- 
rials— Subsequent  History  of  Dissenbodenburg — Con- 
clusion ...  ...  ..154 

Article  III. — St.   Diarmaid,  Bishop  of  Gleann-Uissean,    now   Killeshin,  Queen's 

County  ...  ...  ...  ...      163 

Article  IV. — St.   Summiva,    Sunnifa,    Sumniva,   or  Sunneva.    an    Irish    Virgin, 

Patroness  of  Bergen,  in  Norway,  and  her  Companions.  Martyrs  ...      166 
Article  V. — St.  Trega,  Virgin  and  Patroness  of  Ardtrea  Parish,  County  of  London- 
derry.    [Fifth  Century. .]  ...  ...  ...      168 

Article  VI.— St.  Brogan,  of  Maethail-Bhrogain,  now  Mothil,  County  of  Waterford, 

or  Secretary  to  St.  Patrick  ...  ...  ...     170 

Article  VII.  — St.  Condmacor  Connmach,  of  Ath-Blair,  or  Atha  Silairj  ...     171 

Article  VIII. — Festival  of  Saints  Totnanns  and  Colmanus,  Martyrs  ...     171 

Article  IX. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Adelinus,  Martyr  ...  ...     171 

Article  X. — Reputed    Festival  of  St.  Erwaldus,    Arnwal,  or  Arnualis,  Disciple  of 

St.  Kilian  ...  ...  ...  ...     171 

Article  XL— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Giswald         ...  ...  ...     172 

Article  XII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Alganus,  Archbishop  and  Martyr  ...     172 

Article  XIII.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Kilian,  Dux,  and  Uncle  to  St.  Ursula  ...     172 

Article  XIV.— St.  Ribianus,  Bishop  ...  ...  ...     172 

Article  XV.— St.  Burchardus,  First  Bishop  of  Wurtzburg  ...  ...     173 

Article   XVI.— Reputed   Festival   of    St.    Aidus,     Abbot    and  Martyr.      [Ninth 

Century. 1  ...  ...  ...  ...     173 

Article  XVII. — St.  Colman  Imramha  or   Iomhramha,   of  Fahan  Beg,  County  of 

Donegal  ...  ...  ...  ...     174 

Article  XVIII. — Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Boisil,  Prior  of  Melrose,  Scotland         ...     174 


llitttfj  Stag  of  3ulg, 


Article  I.— St.  Broccaidh,  of  Imleach-Broccadha,  now  Emlagh,  County 

of  Roscommon.    [Fifth  Century.]                      ...                        ...  175 

Article  II. — St.  Onchon  or  Onchu,  of  Clonmore,   County  of  Carlow,  or  of  Rath- 

Blathmac,   now  Rath,  County  of  Clare                 ...                          ...  177 

Article   III.— St.   Garbhan,  of  Kinsealy,  County  of  Dublin,  or  of  Kinsale,  County 

ofCork               ...                         ...                         ...                         ...  178 

Article  IV.— Reputed  Feast  of  a  St.  Molruan      ...                        ...                        ...  180 

Article  V.— St.  Condmac  or  Connmach,  of  Ath-Blair,  or  Atha-Silain                     ...  180 

Article  VI.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Germanus,  Bishop,  and  of  others                       ...  181 


tCentlj  ©ag  of  3ulg* 

Article  I— St.  Etto,  Hetto,  or  Etiion,  Bishop  and  Confessor.    [Seventh 

Century.]            ...                          ...  ...  ...  181 

Article  II— St. Cuain  or  Cuan,  of  Airbhre,  in  Hy-Kinsellagh  ...  ...  187 

Article    III. — Deacon    Aedh,     of     Cuil-Maine,     now     Clonmanv,  County    of 

Donegal               ...                          ...  —  ...  187 

Article  IV.— St.  Senan                ...                        ..  ...  ...  188 

Article  V.— St.  Ultan                 ...                       ...  ...  ...  189 

Article  VI.— Festival    of    St.   Felicitas    and    of   her    Seven  Sons,  Martyr?,    in 

Rome                 ...                        ...  ...  ...  189 

Article  VII.— Reputed  Feast  of  Twelve  Thousand  Martyrs  ...  ...  189 

Article  VIII.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Mark           ...  ...  •••  190 

Article  IX.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Rumold          ..  ...  190 


CONTJtATS. 


Page 

Article  X. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Kunegunde,  Virgin  ...  ...     190 

Article  XL— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Gildas,  Confe?sor  ...  ...     190 

Article  XII.— Reputed  Feast  of  Donatus,  Martyr  and  Patron  of  Franconia  ...     190 


(fHlebenti)  ©ay  of  3uly, 


Article  I.— St.  Hidulph,  IIidltlfor  Hildulph,  Archbishop  oe  Treves,  and 
Abbot  of  Moyenmoutier,    Diocese  of  Saint-Die,  Lower 
Germany.     {Seventh  Century.] 
Chap.  I.— Introduction— Authorities   for  the   Life   of  St.   Hil- 
dulph— Country  of  his  Birth  contested — Said  to  have 
been    Irish — His    early   Dispositions — Ordination-  - 
Divinely  inspired  to  leave  his  native   Country — He 
seeks  the  City  of  Treves  and  becomes  a  Monk  in  its 
Monastery  ...  ...  ...     1.91 

CHAP.  II— St.  Hildulph  is  withdrawn  from  the  Monastery  by 
St.  Numerian — He  is  elected  Bishop  of  Treves   on 
Decease  of  the  latter— His  Acts  while  Bishop— He 
resigns  the  See  and  retires  to  the  Vosges  Mountains — 
He   founds   the  Monastery  of    Moyenmoutier — His 
Sanctity  and  Miracles— Friendly  Intimacy  with  St. 
Deodatus — On  his   Death  Hildulph  rules  over   the 
Abbey  of  Jointures  with  his  own — His  happy  Death 
— Respect    manifested    towards    his    Relics— Com- 
memoration of  his  Festivals — Conclusion  ...     195 
ARTICLE  II.— St.  Drostan,  Confessor,  in  Scotland.     [Sixth  and  Seventh  Centuries.]       201 
Article  HI.— St.  Sigisbert,  Confessor,  and  St.  Placidus,  Martyr,  Dissentis,  Switzer- 
land.    [Sixth  and  Seventh  Centuries.]                   ...  ...     204 

AfcTICLK  IV.     St.  Lonan,  of  Ard-Cruinn  ...  ...  ...     207 

Article  V.— St.    Falbi,  or  Failbhe,  Son  of  Culocha,   of  Disert  Mic-Conlocha,  in 

Cuircne,  County  of  Westnieath  ...  ..  ...     207 

Article  \  I. — St.  Colman,  Son  of  Cron  or  Cronan  ...  ...     208 

Article  VIL— St.  Berran  ...  ...  ...  ...    209 

Article  VIII. — St.  Gabtina  or  Gaibhthene,  Virgin  ...  ...     209 

Article  IX.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Etiamis,  or  Etlo,  Disciple  of  St.  Fursey  ...     209 

Article  X. — Translation  of  St.  Benedict's  Relics  ...  ...  ...     209 

ARTICLE  XL— Festival  of  St.    Fuphemia,    Virgin   and    Martyr,    with    her    Com- 
panions ...  ...  ...  ...     210 

Ar  1  RLE  XII.— Festival  of  St.  Maclovius  ...  ...  ...     210 


©foriftfj  ©ay  of  Sub- 

Article  L— St.  Mf.nulphus  or  St.  Mknou,  Bishop  of  Qcjimper-Corentin, 

France.     [Probably  in  the  Seventh  Century. \  ...                         ..!     210 

Article  IT.— St.  Nazarus,   Nazair,  or  Nasan,   Bishop  of  Liethmore,   County  of 

Tippcrary           ...                         ...  ...                                2I- 

Articli   ill.     St.Colman,]              Cruain  Bruchaia  216 

.  —  St.  Ultan,  of  Cork,  County  of  Cork  ...                          .'.'.'     217 

-Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Luanus,  Monk  "17 

:  B  VI.— Reputed  Feast  of  St  Levanus  n17 

II.—  Reputed  Festival  of  Divus  or  Dius  2I7 

Article  VIII.— St.  Mochull.neus  ...                       ...  ...                       \\\     218 

Article  IX.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Mono,  Martyr  ..    218 

Article  X.— St.  Felix  and  his  Companions,  Martyrs  ,.]                    ,.]    218 


®f)irtffntij  ©ay  of  Julg. 

Articli  i  ru  and  Maura,  Sisters,  Virgins    and  Mart, 

[Fifth  or  Sixth  Century.} 


C0N7ENTS. 


Tagc 

Article  II. — St.  Cairill  or  Carell,  of'l'amnach,  County  of  Sligo    ...                        ...  222 

Article  III. — St.  Ernin,  or  Arney,  of  Inis-caoin,  now  Inniskeen,  Counties  of  Meath 

and  Cavan           ...                          ...                          ...                          ...  222 

Article  IV. — St.  Greallog  Obelech,  of  Tamlacht  Charna,  in  Vi  Breasail-airthit  "...  223 
Article  V. — St.  Mosiloc  or  Mothiolog,  of  Cloonatten,   Parish  Hi  KilmichaeH  >ge, 

County  of  Wexford                        ...                          ...                          ...  224 

ARTICLE  VI, — Cruimther  Fionntain,  of  Cill-aithir                            ...                         ...  225 

Article  VII.— St.  Finnu,  Finnus,  or  Finnius,  Son  of  Arath,  or  A  radius                ...  225 

Article  VIII. — St.  Ultan,  Son  of  Araidi              ...                        ...                        ...  225 

Article  IX.—  St.  Taodhog,  of  Tigh  Taedhog      ...                       ...                       ...  225 

Article  X.— St.  Ere,  Priest         ...                        ...                        ...                        ...  226 

Article  XI. — Feast  for  the  Translation  of  the  Relics  of  St.   Maguil  or  Madel- 

gisilus                 ...                        ...                        ...                        ...  226 

Article  XII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Turian,  or   Turiav,  Bishop  of  Dol,  and  Con- 
fessor, Lesser  Britain,  France     ...                         ...                         ...  226 

Article  XIII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Winnianus,  a  Scottish  Bishop                       •••  226 

Article  XIV.— Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Menulf  or  Menu                ...                        ...  227 

Article  XV.— Festival  of  St.  Evangelus                ...                       ,..                       ...  227 


jrourtenttf)  Sag  of  3ulg. 


Article  I.— St.  Maelceadar,  the  Victorious,  or  Maldegarius,  surnamed 

Vincent,  First  Earl  of  the  Hannoina,  or  Hainault. 

[Seventh  Century.']                         ...                          ...                          ...  227 

Article  II. — St.   Id,   Bishop  of  Ath-Fhadbat,  now  Ahade  or  Aghade,  County  of 

Carlow.     [Said  to  have  lived  in  the  Fifth   Century.']                       ...  234 

Article  III. — St.  Onchu,  or  Onchuo,  Priest,  of  Kildare,  County  of  Kildare          ...  236 

Article  IV. — St.  Colman,  Son  of  Aingen            ...                        ...                        ...  237 

Article  V. — Feast  of  the  Dominion  or  Rest  of  St.  Cormac,  of  Ath-Truim,  or  Trim, 

County  ot  Meath                            ...                          ...                          ...  237 

Article  VI.— Translation  of  two  Heads  of  the  Ursuline  Virgins  and  Martyrs         ...  237 

Article  VII. — St.  Faghna            ...                        ...                        ...                         .  237 

Article  VIII.— Feast  of  the  Bishop  Jacob            ...               *         ...                        ...  237 

Article  IX. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.   Dentelinus,    Patron  of  Rees,  Duchy  of  Clevcs. 

[Seventh  Century.]                         ...                          ...                          ...  238 

Article  X.— Reputed   Festival  of  St.  Turrinus,   Bishop  and  Confessor,  in  Lesser 

Britain                 ...                         ...                         ...                         ...  239 

Article  XL — Feast  of  St.  Fursey,  Abbot  of  Lagny,  France           ...                        ...  239 

Article  XII.— Reputed  Feast  of  Harruch,  Bishop"  of  Veiden,  Saxony                     ...  239 


JFtftcmtfj  Dag  of  3ulg. 


Article  L—  St.  Plechelmus,  Bishop  of  Oldensal  and  Rurimond,  Belgium, 

and  Apostolic  Missionary.     [Seventh  and  Eighth  Centuries.]  239 

Article  II. — St.  Comman,  Son  of  Dromma,  or  Dinunai  ...  ...  244 

Article  III.— The  Sons  of  Earcan,  o<"  Brugh-laogh  ...  ..  245 

Article  IV. — St.  Ronan,  Son  of  Magh  ...  ...  ...  245 

Article  V.— Festival  of  the  Twelve  Apostles       ...  ...  ...  245 

Article  VI. — St.  Harruch,  Bishop  of  Verden,  in  *-axony  ...  ...  245 

Article  VIL—  Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Vincentius  Madelgarius  ...  ...  246 


Sixteenth  ©ag  of  Snip* 

Article  L— St.  Breccan  or  Brecan,  of  Cluain-Catha,  Abbot  of  Moville, 
County  ofDonkgal,  and  Bishop  of  Ard-Brec.mn,  County 
of  Meath.     [Sixth  and  Seventh  Centuries.]  ...  246 

Article  IL— St.  Scoth,   Virgin,   of  Cluain-mor-Moescna,    probably    Clonmaskill, 

County  of  Westmeath  .,.  »,•  ...     251 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Article  III.— St.  Torpiba,  or  forbach  Mac  Gorman,   Archbishop  of  Armagh. 

\Eigh  hand  Ninth  Centuries.]    ...                      ...                      ...  251 

A&TICLB  IV.— St.  Mael  tdhar,  of  Bri-molt,  now  Primult,  King's  County                  ...  252 

ARTICLE  V. — Transla  ion  of  the  Body  of  St.  Benin,  Abbot             ...                         ...  252 

Article  VI.-  St.  Cobban,  Beg   ...                        ...                        ...                        ...  252 

ARTICLE  VII.— St  Tenenan,  or  Tenan,  Bishop  of  Leon,  Britany  ...                         ...  252 

Article  VIII. — Visit  of  St.  Livinus  to  the  Monastery  of  Chent,  Belgium  ...  253 
ARTICLE  IX.— Feast  of  St  Sinach  Mac  Dara,  Patron  of  Moyras  Parish,  County  of 

Galway             ...                     ...                      ...                     ...  253 

Article  X.— Festival  of  the  Child-Martyr  Matnmes                       ...                      ...  253 

Article  XI. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Hulannus    ...                     ...                     •••  254 


Scbcntcentij  ©ag  of  July, 


Article  I.— St.    FrEdigand   or  Fridegandus,    Abbot  at  Deuren,  near 

Antwerp,  Belgium.     [About  the  Seventh  Century.]  ...  254 

Article  II— St.  Flann,  Bishop  of  Recrann            ...                        ...  ...  259 

Article  III. — St.  Sistan  or  Siostan,   Priest,  of  Loch  Melge,  now  Lough  Melvin, 

Counties  of  Fermanagh  and  Leitrim                       ...  •••  259 

Article  IV.— St.  Craebhnat,  Virgin                       ...                        ...  ...  260 

Article  V.- Reputed  Feast  of  a  St.  Plechmus      ...                        ...  ...  260 

Article  VI.— Festival  of  the  Scillitani  Martyrs,  at  Carthage,  Africa  ...  260 

Article  VII.— Reputed  Festival  of  the  Translation  of  St.  Odilia   Virgin  ...  261 

Article  VIII.—  Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Golgus,  Abbot                       ..  ...  261 


3£ijjfjtcentij  Dag  of  3ulg. 


Article  L— St.  Tiienna,  Theno-g,  Thenew,  or  Tiianayv,  at  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land,    [/'i  ft  A  and  Sixth  Centuries.] 

Article  II. — Minnborinus,  Abbot  of  St.  Martin's  Monastery,    Cologne.      [Tenth 
Century.] 

Article  III. — St.  Cronan  Mac  Ualach,  or  mac  h.  Lugada,  Abbot  of  Clonmacnoise, 
King's  County    ... 

Article  IV. — St.  Cellach,  or  Ceallach,  Son  ofDuncliad  or  Dunchada 

Article  V. — St.  Dubh  or  Dobogan,  Son  of  Comarde,  or  Comairda 

Article  VI.— St.  Failbe  or  Faifbhe  Maccraic  Dibhigh 

Article  VII.— Reputed  Feast  of  a  St.  Henair 

Article  VIII.— St.  Fionntainn,  Priest  of  Fochuiliich 

ARTICLE  IX.— St.  Cobhthach,  Abbot  of  Kildare.     Ninth  Century.] 

Artk  1.1:  X.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Bertin 

Article  XL—  St.  Mianach,  Son  of  Failbhe 

LE  XI  I.— Feast  of  St.  Christina  and  her  Seven  Brothers,  Martyrs 

ARTICLE  XIII.— Reputed  Feast  for  the  Translation  of  the  Relics  of  St.   Othilia,  or 
Odilia,  Virgin  and  Martyr,  at  Hoye  in  Belgium  ... 


262 

265 

267 
268 
26S 
268 
268 
269 
269 
269 
270 
270 

270 


flmctecntl)  ©au  of  3ulg. 


Article  I.— Si.  Ossin  or  OlSSBINE,  and  I'm  tv  Monks,  of  TENGAIDH 
Article  II.— St.  Aedhan.  Abbot  ofl&more,  County  of  Waterford 
Article  III.— St.  Ciaran, of.Tighna-Gortgh     ... 
Article  IV.    Si.  Cobnm,  ofCluain 

Aim  leu  V.— St.  -Mocolmoc  or  Colman  Mac  h.  Amla 

:  1.  VI.— St.  Ferghus 
Article  VII. — St.  Dimanus  or  Dimaus 

Article  VIII.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Blaan  or  Blanus,  Bishop  of  Dunblane,  Scot- 
land 


271 
273 
273 

273 
274 
274 
274 

275 


CONTENTS. 


Article  IX. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Cathan,   Bishop  in  the  Island  of  Bute,   Scot- 
land ...  ...  ...  ...     275 

Article  X. — Festival  of  St.  SisioUius,  Martyr 


fttoentictij  IDag  of  3ulu. 


Article  I.— St.  Moloca  of  Slieve  Bloom      ...                    ...  ...  276 

Article  II. — St.   Curifin   or   Cuirbin,   the   Pious,   in  Hy-Fidhgeinte,  County  of 

Limerick               ..                          ...                          ...  ...  278 

Article  III.— St.  Caramnan  or  Carmnan            ...                        ...  ...  279 

Article  IV. — St.  Faelchon  or  Faelchu                  ...                        ...  ...  279 

Article  V.— St.  Failbe  or  Failbhe                     ...                      ...  •••  279 

Article  VI. — Festival  of  Sabina  and  Romula        ...                        ...  ...  279 

Article  VII. — Festival  of  St.  Gerebern,  Martyr  ...                        ...  ..  279 

Article  VIII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Onan,  Deacon  of  Ro.-s          ...  ...  280 

Article  IX.— Reputed  Feast  for  the  Translation  of  St.   Rupert's  Relics  at  Saltz- 

burgh                   ...                          ...                          ...  ...  280 


&tocntj)=fir8t  ©ag  of  3ulg. 


Article  I.— St.  Argobastus  or  Arbogastus,  Bishop  of  Strasbourg,   Ger- 
many.    [Seventh  Century}. 

Chap.  I. — Introduction — Biographies  of  St.  Arbogast — Country 
of  his  Nativity — He  leads  a  solitary  Life  there — He 
becomes  a  Hermit  in  the    Vosges  Mountains — His 
Elevation  to  be  Bishop  of  Strasburg — Favours  con- 
ferred by  King  Dagobert  II.  ...  ...     280 

Chap.  II. — The  holy  Life  of  St.  Arbogast — He  restores  Prince 
Sigebert   to  his    Parents — Gratitude  manifested   by 
King   Dagobert    II. — Miracle   at    the    River    111 — 
Works    attributed    to   St.    Arbogast — His    pastoral 
Labours — His  Departure   from   this   Life — Honours 
paid  to  his  Memory — Festivals  and  Commemorations 
— Conclusion  ...  ...  ...     284 

Article  II. — The  Seven  Bishops  of  Tamhnach  Buadha  ...  ...     289 

Article  III. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Tenna,  of  Tamhnach  Buadha  ...  ...     290 

Article  IV. — St.  Sillan  or  Siollan,  of  Glinn  muniie,  or  of  Dunmore,  in  Ui  Briuin- 

Cualann  ...  ...  ...  ...     290 

Article  V. — St.  Curcach,  Virgin  of  Kilcorker,  County  of  Roscommon  ...     291 

Article  VI. — St.  Lughan,  Priest  ...  ...  ...     291 

Article  VII. — St.  Tondach,  Bishop  ...  ...  ...     292 

Article  VIII. — St.  Bradge  ...  ...  ...  ...     292 

Article  IX. — Feast  of  the  Martyr  Helius  ...  ...  ...     292 

Article  X. — Feast  of  St.  Praxedes  ...  ...  ...     292 

Article  XL— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Claudia         ...  ...  ...     292 


&tottt2=seconti  litf|j  of  3ulg. 


Article  I.— St.  Biteus  or  Mobiu,  called  also  Dobi,  or  David,  Abbot  of 

Injs-Cooscry,  County  of  Down  ...  ...  293 

Article  II.— St.  Caemhog,  or  Caemoca  ...  ...  ...  297 

Article  III. — St.  Moroeclia  Mac  Naeb,  or  Morecha,  a  Boy-Saint...  ...  298 

Article  IV. — St.  Dobeodoc  or  Dabhaetog,  of  Cluain-da-Bhaetog,   or  Clor.dawad- 

doge,  in  Fanid,  County  of  Donegal  ...  ...  299 

Article  V.— St.  Moronoc  or  Moronog,  of  Druim  Samhraidh  ...  ...  299 

Article  VI.— St.  Lugid  or  Luighbe  ...  ...  ...  299 

Article  VII.— St.  Oisen  or  Ossen,  Bishop  ...  ...  ••  3°° 


CONTENTS. 


Article  VIII.— St.  Colman         ...                       ...                       ...  ...  300 

Article  IX.— St.  Colum             ..                       ...                      ...  ...  300 

Article  X. — St.  Erentrudis          ...                      ...                      ...  ...  300 

Article  XI. — Festival  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen        ...                      ...  ...  300 

Article  XII.— Festival  of  St.  Appollonius              .                        ...  ...  301 

Article  XIII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Rapertus,  Monk  of  St.  Gall,  Switzerland      ...  301 

Article  XIV.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Verena,  Virgin  and  Martyr  ...  ...  301 


«uKntu4ijtrti  Dau  of  3ulg, 


Article   I.— St.    Cain   ComrAC  OR  Caencomhrac,   Bishop   and  Abbot    of 
Louth,  and  Solitary  on  Inis  Endaimh,  now  Inchenagh  or 

Inishenagh,  Lough  Ree.    [Ninth  Century.]  ...                       ...  302 

Article  II. — St.  Runach,  of  Inis-mor                   ...                       ...                       ...  303 

Article  III. — St.  Fullenn,  Foilan,  or  Fuillen,  of  Atha  Innich,  or  Ath-an-eich         ...  304 

Article  IV. — St.  Fethconor  Fetlichu,  Bishop.    [Probably  in  the  Sixth  Century.] ...  304 
Article  V. — St.    Lassar,  or  Lasre,  of  Killasseragh,  Parish  of  Kilmeen,  County  of 

Cork                    ...                         ...                         ...                         ...  304 

Article  VI. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Alfred,  King  of  Northumbria  ..                         ...  305 

Article  VII. — St.  Banbhnat,  or  Banbnatan           ...                        ...  306 

Article  VIII. — St.  Cronseg, or  Croinseach            ...                        ...                        ...  306 

Article  IX.— St.  Vincentius,  Martyr                     ...                        ...                        ...  306 


Srfocntijsfotutj)  ©as  of  3ulu. 


AKTICLI    I.  — Si.    In.  IAN.    BlSHO?   OP   Akdmore,    AND   PATRON  OF  THE  DECrES, 
County  of  Waterford.     [Fifth  and  Sixth  Centuries.] 

Chap.    I — Introduction — Materials  for  the  Acts  of  St.  Declan — 
His  Period  — His  Family  and  Descent — His  Birth— - 
Miraculous  Manifestations — His  Fosterage   and  early 
Education— His   Reputation  for  Sanctity  at  an  early 
Age  ...  ...  ..      307 

Chat.  II. — Early  Christianity  in  Ireland — St.  Declan,  with  some 
of  his   Disciples,    proceeds   to   Rome — Consecrated 
Bishop  there  by  the  Pope— He  receives  a  Commission 
to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Ireland — His  first  Meeting 
with  St.  Patrick— St.  Declan  arrives  in  Ireland  and 
commences  his   Mission  in   the  South — His  Zeal  and 
Labours — He  visits  Cashel,  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
\-us,  Son  of  Naofraoich,  King  of  Minister— Friend- 
ship of  St.  Patrick  for  St.  Declan— The  latter  fails  to 
convert  Lebanus,    Chief  of  the  Desii— He  is  deposed, 
and  Fearghal  is  inaugurated  as  their  Chief— Ecclesi- 
astical Arrangements  regarding  Jurisdiction  ...     320 
CliAr.  III.— A  Pestilence  breaks  out  in  Munster— St.    Declan's 
Miracle  at   Cashel— He  founds  monastic  Establish- 
ments at  Dcrcan  and  at  Tara — He  returns  through 
ory   to  the    Southern    Decies— His    miraculous 
Powers— Foundations  at  and  subsequent  Condition  of 
Aidmorc— St.   Declan  is  visited  by  St.   Ailbhe — St. 
Declan  miraculously  extinguishes  a  Fire — A  Fleet 
of  pagan  Pirates  destroyed               ..                          ...     334 

CHAP.  IV.—  Bishop  Declan's  Relations  with  St.  Patrick — The 
building  and  Consecration  of  a  Levitiana  or  an 
Oratory  by  St.  Declan— His  numerous  Miracles— He 
builds  a  Hermitage  near  the  Sea-shore,  and  he 
retires  to  it— His  Preparation  for  Death— His  holy 
Departure— Festivals  and  Commemorations— Anti- 
quities at  Ardmore— Memorials  of  St.  Declan— Con- 
clusion ...  ...  .,,     $44 


VTENTS. 


Page 

ARTICLE  II.— St.  Beoc,  Mobheoc,  Mobheog,   Beog,  Beanos,  Dabeoc,  Dabheoc,   or 
Dabheog,  Abbot  of  Termonn,  Lough  Derg,   County  of  Donegal. 

[Fifth  or  Sixth  Century.]           ...                      ...  ...  354 

Article  III. — St.  Luighbe,  of  Drumbo,  County  of  Down              ...  ...  360 

Article  IV. — St.  Comghall,  ofCluain  Diamhair  ...                         ...  ...  360 

Article  V. — St.  Oilleoc,  of  Cluana  Etchen           ...                        ...  ...  361 

Article VI. — St.  Cronan            ...                    ...                    ...  ...  361 

Article  VII. — St.  Blathmac,  Son  of  Flann                                     ...  ...  362 

Article  VIII. — St.  Corodnus  or  Crodhne             ...                        ...  ...  363 

Article  IX. — St.  Lateeran  of  Cullin,  County  of  Cork                     ...  ...  363 

Article  X. — St.  Fergusa              ...                        ...                        ...  ...  363 

Article  XI.— St.  Fagna,  Bishop...                        ...                        ...  ...  363 

Article  XII. — St.  Satanal,  Martyr                        ...                        ...  ...  363 

Article  XIII.— Reputed  Feast  for  St.  Erthad,  Bishop                   ...  ...  363 

Article  XIV.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Rumold,  Archbishop  of  Mechlin  ...  364 


ffifoent^fiftfj  ©ag  of  3ulg; 


Article  I.— St.  Ninnio,  or  Ninian,  the  Senior,  or  the  Old,  Apostle  of 
the  Southern  Picts.     [Fourth  and  Fifth  Centuries.] 
Chap.  I.  —Introduction — Different  Forms  of  St.  Ninian 's  Name 
— Lives     of     St.    Ninian — Christians     among   the 
Southern  Picts — Family  and  Birth  of  St.   Ninian — 
His  early  Years  and  Education — He  visits    Rome — 
His  Consecration  as  Bishop  ...  ...     364 

Chap.   II. — On  his  Return  from  Rome,  St.  Ninian  visits  St.  Martin 
of  Tours— Taking  Leave  of  him,  St.  Ninian  returns  to 
Britain — Disturbed  State  of  Scotland  at  that  Period 
— St.  Ninian's  Reception  there  on  his  Return — His 
missionary  Zeal    and  Labours — He   founds   Candia 
Case  or  Whithorn — Miracles  ...  ...     369 

CHAP.  III. — Conversion  of  the  Southern  Picts  by  St.  Ninian— His 
School  established  at  Candida  Casa — His   Mission 
beyond    the    Grampian    Hills — Disturbed   State   of 
Britain  when  the  Romans  withdrew — Closing  Years 
of  St.  Ninian — His  Death — Festivals  and  Commemo- 
rations— Conclusion  ...  ...     375 

Article  II.— St.  Nessan,  of  Mungret,  County  of  Limerick.       [Fifth  and  Sixth 

Centuries.]  ...  ...  ...  ...     382 

ARTICLE  III. — St.  Moshiloc  or  Moshiolog,  Pupil  of  Moling  Luachra.      [Probably  in 

the  Seventh  Century.]  ...  ...  ...     386 

Article  IV. — Feast   of  St.  Colman    O'Liathain,   Bishop   or   Abbot  of  Lismore. 

Seventh  and  Eighth  Centuries.]  ...  ...  ...     380 

Article  V. — Festival  of  St.  James  the  Greater,  Apostle  ...  ...     350 

Article  VI.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Donard,  Patron   of  Slieve  Donard,   County  of 

Down.     [Fifth  and  Sixth  Centuries.]  ...  ...     391 

Article  VII.— St.  Colman,  or  Caolan  ...  ...  ...     391 

Article  VIII. — St.  Fiachra  Cael,  ofCluain  Caichtne,  or  Cluana  Cain  ...     392 

Article  IX. — St.  Fiachra,  or  Fiahrach  ...  ...  ...     392 

Article  X. — St.  Findbairr,  or  Foinnbharr,  Priest  ...  ...     393 

Article  XL — St.  Criotan  or  Crestain  Oteni  ...  ...  ...     393 

Article  X1L—  Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Declan,  Bishop  and  Patron  of  the  Decies," 

County  of  Waterford  ...  ...  ...     394 

Article  XIII.— St.  Cadten         ...  ...  ...  ...     394 

Article  XIV. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Abranus  or  Abramus  ...  ...     394 

Article  XV. — Reputed  Feast  of  the  Translation  of  St.  Livinus'  Relics  . . .     394 


ftfoentgsStxtij  ©ag  of  3ulg. 

Article  L— St.  Furadhran,  Bishop.  ...  ...  395 

Article  II.— St.  Thoman,  or  Toman,  of  Mungret,  County  of  Limerick  ...     395 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Article  III. — St.  Nessan  of  Mungret,  County  of  Limerick          ...  ...  395 

Article  IV.  —  Festival  of  Christ's  Transfiguration  on  Mount  Tabor  ...  395 

Article  V. — Festival  of  St.  Jovian,  and  of  his  Companions,  Martyrs  ...  396 
Article  VI.— Festival  of  St.  Eoban.  Bishop  and    Martyr,    Assistant    Bishop   of 

Utrecht,  Holland.     {Eighth  Century],                  ...  .-396 

Article  VII.— Festival  of  St.  riechelmus,  at  Rurimonde,  Belgium  ...  396 

Article  VIII. — Reputed   Feast  of  St.   Colmoicus,  or  Colmocus,   Confessor  and 

Bishop,  in  Scotland                      ...                         ...  ...  396 

Article  IX.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Malimbeus,  Hermit  and  Martyr,  Scotland  ...  397 

ARTICLE  X. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Chamnecus       ...                        ...  ...  397 


5Dtoentg--scbnttij  Sag  of  3ulg* 

Article  I. — St.  Beoghain,  Abbot  of  Moville,  County  of  Down  ...  397 

Article  II. — St.  Lutt,  Virgin,  of  Tigh  Luta,  in  Fothartha  Mora  ...  ...  399 

Article  III. — St.  Lasrain  or  Lassar,  of  Tipra  Roisrain                  ...  ...  400 

Article  IV. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Luican,  Parish  of  Kill-Lucaiu  ...  400 

Article  V. — St.  Brenainn,  of  Fore,  County  of  Westmeath              ...  ...  400 

Article  VI.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Dhaidh         ...                       ...  ...  400 

Article  VII. — St.  Guarian          ...                       ..,                       ..  ...  402 

Article- VIII.—  Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Congall,  Abbot  of  Jabhnallivin  ...  402 

Article    IX. — Reputed    Festival    of    St.     Maelrubius,     at    Maine    or  Mearns. 

Scotland              ...                         ...                         ...  ...  402 

Article    X. — Reputed     Feast    for    the    Translation  of    St.    Pantaleon's    Relics, 

Cologne             ...                        ...  ...  402 

Article  XI. — Festival  of  St.  Simeon,  the  Monk  ...                         ...  ...  403 

Article    XII. — Reputed    Feast  of    Blessed    Marianus,    a  Recluse    at    Ratisbon, 

Bavaria               ...                         ...                         ...  ...  403 


^bjentjj^iciijii)  ©ag  of  3nty. 


Chap.  II. 


Article  I.— St.  Samson  or  Sampson,  Bishop  of  Dol,  or  Dola,  in  Armorica, 
France.     [Fifth  a  nd  Sixth  Centuries] 

Chap.  I.— Introduction — Sources  for  St.  Samson's  Biography — 
II-  Parentage  and  Birth— His  early  Training— He 
studies  at  the  School  of  St.    Iltut — His  Life  while 
there — He  is  ordained  Deacon  and  afterwards  he  is 
raised  to  the  Priesthood — His  miraculous  Preserva- 
tion from  a  malicious  Attempt  on  his  Life — His  Fasts 
and  Austerities 

-St.  Samson  leaves  the  Monastery  of  St.  Iltutus,  and 
places  himself  under  the  Direction  of  St.  Piro — His 
Visit  to  Amon  and  Conversion  of  his  Family— They 
embrace  a  religious  Life— Samson   appointed  Abbot 
over  Piro's  Community — He  leaves  for  Ireland — He 
returns  to  Britain— His  eremitical  Life— His  Conse- 
cration as  Bishop  ... 
CHAr.  III.— A  Demoniac  healed  by    St.    Samson— Through    a 
Vision,  Samson  is  admonished  to   leave  the  Greater 
for  the  Lesser   Brittany— For  a  Time  he  resides  in 
Cornwall,  where   many  Miracles   are   wrought— He 
arrives  in   France— His  Religious   Habitation  at  Dol 
—His  Interference  on  behalf  of  distressed  Persons — 
His  Reception  at  Court  by  King  Childebert— The  See 
of  Dol.  ...  ... 

CHAP.  V.— Incorrect  Tradition  about  St.  Samson  having  been 
Archbishop  of  York— His  Zeal  and  missionary  Work 
in  Armorica— II is  Disciples— Friendship  between  St. 
Samson  and  St.  Germain,  Bishop  of  Paris— Presence  of 
St.  Samson  at  the  Third  Council  of  Paris— He  returns 


404 


4' 


4'7 


CONTENTS. 


P«ga 


to  Dol  Monastery — His  Death — Welsh  Traditions — 
His  Interment  at  Dol — His  Relics — Memorials  of  St. 
Samson   in  Ireland,   Wales,  England   and  France — 
Festival  and  Commemorations — Conclusion  ...    424 

Article  II.— St.  Colman,  or  Comhghall,  of  Gabla  liuin,    or  Gobhalliuin,  in  Dar- 

traighe  Coininnsi  ...  •••  ...     433 

Article  III.— St.  Lenican  or  Liuicar.,  said  to  be  of  Killucan,  County  of  West* 

meath  ...  ...  •••  •••     434 

Article  IV. — St.  Furudrain.  or  Fura<lhrann         ...  ...  ...     434 

Article  V. — St.  Uisseoit,  of  Druim  Uisseoit         ...  ...  ...     434 

Article  VI.— St.  Celsus  ...  ...  ■••  ...     434 

Article  VII.— Festival  of  St.  Theophilus  ...  ...  ...     434 

Article  VIII.— Festival  of  St.  Pantaleon,  Martyr  ...  ...     435 

Article  IX.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Tessan  or  Tressan  ...  ...     435 

ARTICLE   X. — Reputed  Feast    for   a  Translation   of    St.    Livinus'    Relics,    Ghent, 

Belgium  ...  ...  ...  •••     435 


Sttocntssiuntij  ©au  of  3uto, 


Article  I.— St.  Olave,  or  St.  Olaf,  King  of  Norway  and  Martyr.    [Tenth 
and  Eleventh  Centuries.] 

Chap.  I. — Introduction — Authorities  for  the  Acts  of  St.  Olave — 
Other  distinguished  Kings,  named  Olave  or  Olaf,  his 
Contemporaries — His    Descent — His    Birth — Early 
Dispositions  and  Desires  for  Adventure  ...     436 

Chap.  II. — Early  warlike  Propensities  of  Olaf — His  first  mari- 
time   Adventures    against  Denmark    and    Sweden, 
Friesland    and     Holland — Northman    Invasions    of 
England  and   Wars    with   the   Saxons — King    Olaf 
arrives  in  Normandy,  where  probably  he  was  baptized 
— He   returns  to  aid  Ethelred  in  England — His  Vic- 
tories— He  recovers  Norway  from  the  Swedes  and 
Danes — He  is  then  proclaimed  King  of  that  Country     445 
Chap.   III. — The  Independence  of  Norway  achieved  by  Olaf — He 
is  acknowledged  as  sole  King — He  brings  Missiona- 
ries there — His  Zeal  to   spread  Religion — His  royal 
Progresses — Peace  proclaimed  between  himself  and 
the  King  of  Sweden — Attempts  to  assassinate  Olaf, 
King  of  Norway — He   marries  Astrida — His    regal 
and  missionary  Tours — The  Birth  of  his  Son  Magnus 
— He  introduces  Christianity  among  the  People  of 
Greenland,  of  Iceland,  and  of  the  Faeroe  Islands    ...     456 
Chap.  IV. — Canute,  King  of  England  and  of  Denmark,  asserts 
his  Claim  to  the  Crown  of  Norway — He  prepares  to 
invade  that  Country — Preparations  of  Olaf,  King  of 
Norway  and   of  Anund   II.,   King  of  Sweden,   to 
oppose  him — Canute  expels  Olaf  from  Norway,  and 
obliges  him  to  take  Refuge  in  Sweden — Olaf  retires 
into  Russia — He  is  again  impelled  to  return  to  Nor- 
way on  Hearing  of  Hacon's  Death — He  visits  Sweden 
— An  Expedition  organized  there  for  the  Invasion  of 
Norway  ...  ...  ...     470 

Chap.  V. — Return  of  King  Olaf  to  Norway,  at  the  Head  of  an 
Army — The  fatal  Battle  at  Stiklestad — Incidents  of 
the  Engagement — Interment  of  the  King  and  subse- 
quent Translation  of  his  Relics— The  building  of 
Drontheim  Cathedral  and  the  Shrine  of  St.  Olaf — 
Veneration  for  St.  Olaf's  Remains  and  Miracles 
wrought  through  his  Intercession — Memorials  of  the 
Saint — His  Festivals — Conclusion...  ...     478 

Article  II. —  St.   Kilian,  Chelian  or  Coelan,  Monk   of  Inishkeltra,   Lough  Derg, 

County  Clare.     [Eighth   Century]  ...  ...     496 

Article  III.— St.  Justan,  of  Lene,  Manach  .,  ...     503 


CONTENTS. 


Article  IV. — Festival  of  St.  Bitus,  or  Bite,  of  Inis  Cumscraigh,  now  Inch,  or  Innis 

cumhscray,  Strangford  Lough,  County  of  Down... 
Article  V. — St.  Cummine  or  Cuimmein,  Son  of  Aride 
Article  VI.— St.  Ethelwin,  Bishop  and  Confessor 
Article  VII. — Festival  of  St.  Lupus  and  of  St.  Simplicius,  Bishops 
Article  VIII. — Festival  of  St.  Prosper,  and  Ins  Companions 


Page 

505 
505 
505 
505 
506 


&Ijtrttetfj  ©atr  of  3ulg. 


Article  I.— St.  Sechnasach,  Abbot  of  Ceann-Locha,  or  Kinlough. 

Article  II. — St.  Coharchair,  or   Cobuir,  Son  of  Goll,  of  Gulban-gort 

Article  III.— St.  Maeltuile,  of  Disert-Maeltuile,  now  Dysart,   County  of  West- 

meath 
Article  IV.  — St.  Cobthach,  Disciple  of  Columkiile 
Article  V.— St.  Saran 

A&TICLB  VI. — St.  German,  Son  of  Goll,  or  of  Mac  Guill 
ARTICLE  VII.— Festival     of   St.   Aodh  mac  Brice,   of  Sleibh   Liage,   County    of 

Donegal 
Article  VIII.— St.  Febrithae,  or  Febrithe 
Article  IX.— St.  Colman,  Bishop 

Article  X.— Festival  of  Saints  Abdon  and  Sennen,  Martyrs,  at  Rome 
Article  XI.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Erentrudis     ... 


506 
506 

507 
507 
507 
508 

508 
508 
508 
5°9 
5°9 


STIjirt^first  ©ag  of  3ulg. 


Article  I.— Festival  for  the  SonsofNadfraecii,  viz.,  Colman,  Follaman, 

PAPAN,  Iernoc  AND  Natalis.     {Fifth  ami  Sixth  Centuries.]    ... 
ARTICLE  II.— St    Natalis  or  Naal,  Abbot    of  Kilmanagh,   County   of  Kilkenny. 

[Fifth  and  Sixth  Centuries.] 
Article  III.— St.  Colman,  Son   of  Dairine,   Bishop  of  Derrymore,  King's  County. 

[SixtA  Century.] 
ARTICLE  IV.— St  Papan  of  Santry,  County  of  Dublin.     [Supposed  to  be  of  the  Fifth 

and  Sixth  Centuries] 
Article  V.— St.  Follomon,  or  Fallamain,  Bishop.    [Supposed  to  be  of  the  Fifth  and 

Sixth  Centuries.]   ... 
Article  VI.— St.  Jarnoc  Ailithir,  or  Jarnog,  the  Sickly 
Article  VII.— Feast  for  the  Translation  of  the  Relics  of  St.   Brieuc,  first   Bishop 

and  Patron  of  Brieux 
V  I II.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Ann  Erentrudis 
i    IX.— Reputed  Feast  of  Mac  Tail,  of  Cell  Mannch,  in   the  west  of 
Article  X.— Cromdabh  Sunday,  or  the  last  Sunday  of  July 


509 

5 '4 

515 

517 
518 

518 
519 
519 


SUPPLEMENTAL    LIST    OF    SUBSCRIBERS. 


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y  of  Ossory,  Episcopal  Residence, 
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LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS 


jfirsft  I3ap  of  3ulj>. 


ARTICLE   L— ST.   RUMOLD,    APOSTLE   AND   BISHOP   OF   MECHLIN, 

BELGIUM. 

[EIGHTH     CENTURY.} 

CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTION — ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  WRITERS  OF  ST.  RUMOLD's  ACTS — NATIVITY 
AND  PARENTAGE  OF  ST.  RUMOLD — HIS  BIRTH  THE  FRUIT  OF  PRAYER— HIS  EARLY 
PIETY— ANGELIC  COMMUNICATIONS— ST.  RUMOLD  DEVOTES  HIMSELF  TO  A  LIFE  OF 
CELIBACY — ON  THE  DEATH  OF  GUALAFER,  HE  IS  NOMINATED  AND  ELECTED 
ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN — REMARKS  ON  THE  DUBIOUS  CHARACTER  OF  THESE 
STATEMENTS. 

CELEBRATED  personages  and  heroes,  most  honoured  in  the  esteem  of 
men  for  success  and  fame  acquired  on  the  theatre  of  this  world,  are 
covered  with  the  glare  of  renown  in  laboured  chronicles,  sublime  song,  or 
elegant  panegyric.  But,  how  seldom  do  right  and  justice  direct  their  aims, 
or  how  does  it  so  frequently  happen,  that  disinterestedness  and  self-denial  are 
found  wanting  in  a  career  of  ambition,  while  men  are  aspiring  to  human 
grandeur !  In  describing  the  life  and  virtues  of  every  great  saint,  when 
reliable  materials  are  furnished  for  the  purpose ;  we  are  not  obliged  to  borrow- 
false  rhetorical  colouring,  when  seeking  the  production  of  a  truthful  por- 
traiture. The  more  simple  and  exact  a  biographer's  narrative  becomes  in 
such  case,  the  more  his  reader  feels  charmed  and  edified  ;  because  fidelity  to 
the  etching  of  a  noble  subject  brings  the  thought  and  heart  of  man  into  gene- 
rous relations  with  all  that  is  morally  sublime  and  illustrious.  Patient  and 
unobtrusive  perseverance,  in  the  pursuit  of  God's  work  from  early  youth  to 
manhood's  prime,  deserves  our  admiration  and  praise,  since  the  Almighty 
usually  deigns  to  reward  it  with  an  unfading  crown.  In  difficult  missionary 
enterprise,  the  sweat  and  labour  of  a  true  Christian  toiler  serve  to  refresh  the 
soul.  Scanty  fare  and  poor  raiment  adequately  supply  the  saint's  temporal 
wants.  Privation  may  attend  upon  his  course,  although  Providence  guide  his 
steps  and  watch  over  his  sleeping  and  waking  moments.  For  the  truly  heroic, 
martyrdom  frequently  looms  in  prospect,  and  waits  at  the  close  of  his  suffering 
yet  glorious  life.  Whatever  may  be  the  despair  and  fear  of  a  criminal,  at  the 
approach  of  a  violent  death  j  it  has  no  terrors,  but  it  has  even  peculiar  con- 
solations, for  the  holy  martyr.  He  loves  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of  his  Divine 
Master.    The  great  ones  of  earth  feel  solicitous  to  attain  temporal  honours 

Vol.  VII.— No.  i.  a 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i. 


and  rewards,  which  they  hope  to  preserve  to  life's  closing  scene  ;  but,  God's 
true  servants  rather  court  neglect,  practise  poverty  of  spirit,  endure  reproach, 
persecutions  and  even  death  itself,  when  duty  demands  the  sacrifice.  All  the 
wealth  and  fame  this  world  can  bestow  are  poor  as  compared  with  their 
rewards.  Animated  by  such  generous  sentiments,  great  saints  have  embraced 
the  Cross,  and  have  formed  noble  resolutions,  in  quitting  friends  and  native 
country,  cherished  associations  and  material  comforts,  rather  than  prove 
recreant  to  the  inspirations  of  Divine  Grace. 

Some  unpublished  Acts  of  this  holyprelate  are  yet  remaining  in  Manuscript.1 
A  short  Life  of  St.  Rumold  had  been  written  by  Theodoric,  Abbot  of  the 
monastery  of  St.  Trudo  or  St.  Tron.2  He  belonged  to  the  Order  of  St.  Bene- 
dict, and  to  the  Congregation  of  Cluny,  and  he  was  living  in  the  year  1 100.3 
This  sketch  is  comprised  in  Ten  Chapters,4  and  it  has  been  published  by 
O'Sheerin. s  Another  and  a  more  important  Life  of  our  saint  has  been  written 
by  John  Domoyns.  This  was  dedicated  by  him  to  the  senate  and  people  of 
Mechlin.  It  is  comprised  in  Twenty-nine  Chapters  ;  having  eight  additional 
chapters,  regarding  the  Relics  and  Feasts,  instituted  in  honour  of  our  saint, 
after  his  death.  The  Mass  and  Office  of  St.  Rumold  are  also  appended  to 
it.6  There  are  several  valuable  notes  succeeding,  which  purport  to  have  been 
written  by  Fathers  Ward  and  O'Sheerin. 7  These  Acts  of  St.  Rumold  have  been 
published  by  FatherThomasO'Sheerin,oras  his  namehas  been  Latinized  Sirinus, 
with  emendations  and  addition's,  from  the  posthumous  papers  of  Father  Hugh 
Ward.  He  belonged  to  the  Congregation  of  the  Brothers  Minors,  and  he  had 
formerly  been  professor  in  Louvain  University.8  This  work  he  dedicated  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Mechlin,  Andrew  Creusen.  Sirin  likewise  prefixes  some 
introductory  remarks  for  the  general  reader.9  A  summary  of  our  saint's  Life 
precedes  the  two  principal  Acts  of  St.  Rumold,  which  follow  in  the  publica- 
tion of  O'Sheerin,  with  certain  eulogies  regarding  him,  taken  from  different 
Martyrologies  and  from  other  sources.10  The  remainder  of  this  valuable  work 
is  made  up  of  a  historical  dissertation  on  St.  Rumold's  country.11      This  is 


Article    i. — Chapter    i. — '    Among  rum,    Institorum    et    Navigantium,     Acta 

these  are,  MS.  Bibl.   Keg.  13  A  x.  Ff.  55  b,  Martyrium,  Liturgia  Antiqua,  et  Patiia,  &c. 

61  b,  vel.  4to.  xii.  cent.  MSS.  C.C.C.  Cant.  Per  R.  P.  F.  Hugonem  Vardaeum  Hibernum, 

9.  PP-  53-58,  vel.  fol.  xi.  cent.  MS.  Arundel,  &c.      Opus    Posthvmvm    nunc     recens     a 

Brit.  Mus.  91,  Ff.  194  b.    197,  vel.  fol.  xii.  V.  A.  P.  F.  Thoma  Sirino  ejusdem  Ordinis 

cent.  et  Collegii  Lectore  Jubilato  recognitum  et  in 

3  This  is  a  mere  panegyrical  discourse,  nonnullis  suppletum,"  &c,  &c.  This  work 
which  had  been  pronounced  on  the  festival  is  chiefly  quoted  in  the  subsequent  pages* 
of  our  saint.  under  the  abridged  title,  or  as  referring  to 

Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "  Ecclesiastical  Vita  S.    Rumoldi,    authore  Theodorico,  as 

History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  hi.,  cap.  xix.,  sect.  also  to  the  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn- 

xv.,  n.  169,  p.  199.  sio. 

4  It  omits  many  circumstances  relative  to  »  Concerning  Father  Ward,  Colgan  and 
the  history  of  St.  Rumold,  such,  for  instance,  others,  who  had  laboured  at  the  task  of pub- 
ai  his  having  been  a  bishop,  although  this  lishing  Acts  of  Irish  Saints,  have  interesting 
is  universally  allowed.  notices. 

s  See  '"Sancti  Rymoldi    Martyris   inclyti  10  It  would  appear,  that  this  work  was  not 

Archiepiscopi  Duhliniends,  Mechliniensium  accessible  to  Dr.  Lanigan,  who  relates,  that 

Apostoli,"  «C     Vita  S.    Rumoldi,  authore  he  had  not  been  able  to  meet  with  the  Acts 

Theodorico,  pp.  1  to  11.  of  St.   Rumold,  written  by   Hugh  Ward,  a 

See  ibid.     Vita  S.  Rumoldi,    authore  learned   Irish  Franciscan  of  Louvain,  and 

Domynsio,  pp.  12  to  53.  which  were  published  after  his  death,  by  his 

7  See  ihd.,  pp.  53  to  87.  confrere  Sirin,  in  1662. 

This  work   is  intituled:  "Sancti   Rv-  "    Regarding    his    nativity   in    Ireland, 

moldi  Martyris  inclyti,  Archiepiscopi  Dvb-  Theodoric  is  very  explicit ;  although  he  calls 

hniensis  Mechliniensium  Apostoli,  Advocati  the  saint's  country  Scotia,  still  we  are  told, 

sterihum  Conjugum,  Agricolarum,  Piscato-  that  it  was  the  Island  Scotia,  separated  by- 


July  i.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


demonstratively  proved  to  have  been  Ireland,  in  opposition  to  the  assertions 
of  some  persons,  who  had  called  him  a  native  of  Scotland.  Evidence  is 
furnished  from  various  Marty rologies,  and  from  ancient  records  to  establish  the 
claim  of  Ireland  for  the  honour  of  his  birth.  This  learned  Disquisition  shows 
a  wonderful  amount  of  research  by  the  industrious  compiler.12  There  are 
likewise  some  metrical  fragments  and  inscriptions  written  by  Father  Hugh 
Ward,  and  arranged  by  his  editor  Sirinus.1*  It  shall  be  our  endeavour,  to 
condense  the  more  important  matters  contained  in  this  work,  so  far  as  they 
bear  on  St.  Rumold's  history.  We  shall  refer  particularly  to  portions  of  the 
work,  on  which  our  statements  are  chiefly  grounded. 

Notices  of  this  illustrious  saint  may  be  found  in  Lippeloo,1*  Molanus,xs 
Miraeus,16  Baillet,1?  and  Surius.18  The  tract  called  the  "  Life  of  St.  Rumold," 
and  published  in  the  enlarged  edition  of  Surius,1?  at  the  ist  of  July — so  far  as 
it  goes — is  apparently  rather  exact.  The  Bollandists  2°  have  likewise  given 
his  Acts.  These  have  reference  to  his  Feast,  which  is  placed  at  the  ist  of 
July.  One  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  John  Baptist  Soller,  published  a  fine  large 
folio  volume  of  Acts  relating  to  our  saint,  in  over  200  pages,  double  columns, 
and  adorned  with  various  engravings.21  It  appeared  at  Antwerp,  a.d.  17 18. 
The  Jesuit  Father  Stephen  White  commemorates  him  at  this  date,  and  classes 
him  among  the  martyrs.22  In  the  Bre\iary  of  St.  John  Lateran  are  Lessons 
for  an  office  of  St.  Rumold,  at  the  3rd  of  July;  and  these  have  been  incor- 
porated with  the  offices  of  the  Irish  clergy,  as  found  in  the  supplement  to 
most  of  their  Breviaries  printed  in  Ireland. 23  Other  Lessons  2*  of  St.  Rumold's 
office,  at  the  ist  of  July,  have  been  compiled  by  Bishop  De  Burgo,  jn  his 
"  Officia  Propria  Sanctorum  Hiberniae."2*  To  these  are  added  a  prayer,  proper 


the  sea  from  Britain,  and  the  Island  in  which 
there  are  no  serpents.  To  make  the  matter  yet 
plainer,  he  refers  to  the  well-known  words 
of  Solinus'  description  of  Ireland.  "  Hsec 
ilia  est  Scotia,  teste  Solino,  olim  inhumana, 
incolaruin  ritu  aspero,  alias  ita  pabulosa,  ut 
pecua  interdum,  nisi  a  pascuis  arceantur,  in 
periculum  agat  saties.  Illic  nullus  anguis, 
avis  rara." — Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  cap.  2, 
p.  2. 

12  See  ibid.  Dissertatio  Ilistorica  de  Sancti 
Rumoldi  Patria,  quam  Hiberniam  esse 
Scriptorum  consensu  demonstratur,  in 
twelve  sections,  and  some  of  these  are 
subdivided  into  several  additional  Articles, 
pp.  88  to  387. 

13  See  ibid.  Metricoe  Inscriptiones  aliquot 
Imaginum  personas  Sanctas,  aut  Beatas  Ec- 
clesiie  vel  Historicis,  aut  alias  illustres  repre- 
sentantium,  aliaqu6  Fragmenta  Poetica,  ex 
pluribus  qu?e  olim  florente  setate  lusit 
R.  P.  Fr.  Hugo  Vardseus,  parergi  loco  et  ne 
excidant  hie  adjecta,  pp.  388  to  398.  The 
last  page  of  this  work  has  an  ingenious 
arrangement  of  words  in  six  columns,  and  it 
is  headed :  Ad  Reverendiss.  Patrem  Fr. 
Benignum  a  Genua  Seraphicae  Ordinis  S.  P. 
N.  Francisci  Ministrum  Generalem  Serio- 
ludrica. 

14  See  "  Vitse  Sanctorum,"  tomus  hi.,  pp. 
13  to  27. 

15  See  "Natales  Sanctorum  Belgii,"  pp. 
136,  137. 

16  See  "  Fasti  Belgici  et  Burgundici,"  pp. 
3SSto36i. 


x?  See  "  Les  Vies  des  Saints,"  tome  ii., 
pp.  25,  26. 

18  See  "De  Probatis  Sanctorum  Vitis," 
tomus  iv.,  i.  Julii,  pp.  24  to  27. 

*9  Issued  at  Cologne,  A.D.  1618. 

20  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  I 
Julii.  De  Sancto  Rumoldo  Episcopo  .  et 
MartyreMechlinisein  Belgio,  pp.  169  to  266. 

21  It  is  intituled :  "  Acta  S.  Rumoldi 
Episcopi  etMartyris  Mechliniensium,"  Col- 
legit,  digessit,  illustravit,  Joannes  Baptista 
Sollerius  Societatis  Jesu  Theologus.  Many 
valuable  historic  documents  are  contained  in 
this  volume. 

22  To  this  he  refers  with  some  degree  of 
triumph,  in  refuting  the  statements  of  Giral- 
dus  Cambrensis,  that  Ireland  furnished  the 
Church  with  no  martyrs.  See  "  Apologia 
pro  Hibernia,"  cap.  ii.,  p.  15.  See  also 
cap.  iv.,  p-37. 

23  See  ex.  gr.  Richard  Coyne's  Dublin 
edition,  printed  1844,  of  "  Breviarum  Ro- 
manum,"  Supplementum  ad  Partem  ^Esti- 
vam,  pp.  cexx.,  cexxi. 

24  These  consist  in  great  part  of  silly  fables, 
according  to  Dr.  Lanigan.  Some  of  these 
may  be  seen  in  Harris'  account  of  St. 
Rumold  at  "  Bishops  of  Dublin."  See  Rev. 
Dr.  Lanigan's  "Ecclesiastical  History  of 
Ireland,"  vol.  iii.,  chap,  xix.,  sect,  xv.,  n. 
169,  p.  199. 

*5  See  Die  Prima  Julii.  In  Festo  S. 
Rumoldi,  pp.  63  to  68. 

26  See  vol.  i.,  "  Archbishops  of  Dublin," 
P-  305. 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July 


for  this  saint.  The  Lessons  of  Bishop  De  Burgo  are  much  less  correct,  how- 
ever, than  those  of  the  office,  which  is  now  read  in  Ireland. 

Some  particulars  regarding  St.  Rumold  are  to  be  found  in  Harris'  Ware,36 
as  also  in  the  works  of  Bishop  Challoner,27  Rev.  Alban  Butler,28  Rev.  Dr. 
Lanigan,7?  John  D'Alton,3°  and  Bishop  Forbes.31 

The  constant  tradition  of  the  church  of  Mechlin,3*  and  the  testimony  of 
every  older  writer,  who  has  treated  regarding  this  saint,  make  St.  Rumold  an 
Irishman.33  Rumold  is  said  to  have  been  the  son  of  David, 3*  a  king  amongst 
the  Scots.3s  Again,  it  has  been  asserted,  that  this  David  had  been  King  of 
Dublin.  However,  the  name  of  David  which  has  been  given  to  St.  Rumold's 
father  by  the  foreign  biographer — even  as  resolved  by  Irish  writers  into  Davi, 
Dathi  or  Nathi — cannot  be  found  in  the  list  of  Irish  monarchs,  so  as  to  corre- 
spond with  the  generation  previous  to  our  saint's  birth.  Nor  can  it  even  be 
found,  in  a  list  of  the  Kings  in  Leinster — to  which  province  Rumold's  father 
is  thought  to  have  belonged — so  as  to  agree  with  St.  Rumold's  chrono- 
logy.36 A  conjectural  statement  has  been  advanced,3?  which  if  accepted 
might  be  assigned  probably  as  the  paternal  genealogy  for  our  saint.  Thus, 
perchance,  Rumold  was  son  to  David,  son  of  Cormac,  son  to  Falbei,  son  of 
Eochod  Clithfir,  son  to  Columb,  son  of  Cormac  Camshron,  son  to  David,  son 
ofCrimthann,  King  of  Leinster,  &c.  It  is  stated,  in  a  Life  of  St.  Rumold, 
that  his  father  David,  being  a  man  of  virtue  and  of  exalted  birth,  was 
anxious  to  procure  a  partner,  possessed  of  like  advantages.  He  had  heard 
much  regarding  the  fame  and  virtues  of  Cecilia,  a  daughter  to  the  King  of 
Sicily.  This  lady  he  espoused,  with  her  father's  consent,  and  their  nuptials 
were  celebrated  with  great  pomp.  The  people  of  his  own  nation  testified 
extraordinary  joy,  on  the  happy  occasion.38  Another  writer3?  states,  that  his 
queen  was  Csecilia,  daughter  to  a  King  of  Cashel.  However,  Theodoric  and 
the  Lateran  Breviary  omit  altogether  the  names  of  St.  Rumold's  parents. 
These  authorities  merely  state,  that  he  was  of  the  royal  house  of  Ireland,  and 
by  right  of  succession  heir  to  a  throne/0  An  ancient  writer  of  his  Acts  ^ 
declares,  that  as  he  had  no  knowledge  regarding  the  parents  and  ancestors  of 
St.  Rumold,  so  should  he  not  refer  further  to  them,  while  it  must  be  unneces- 


2*  See  M  Britannia  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  pp.  Dr.  Lanigan  to  be  meant  for  Dathy.    By 

2,  3*  persons  writing  in  Latin,  this  Irish  name  has 

28  See  "  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs,  and  been  sometimes  changed  into  David, 
other  principal  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  i.  35  According  to  the  Life  of  St.  Rumold, 

29  See    "Ecclesiastical   History  of  Ire-  by  Domyns. 

land,"  vol.  hi.,  chap,  arix.,  sect,  xv.,  pp.  197  36  The  most  probable  conjecture,  which 

to  201.  Ward  or  O'Sheerin  can  form  is,  that  per- 

3°  See  «•  Memoirs  of  the  Archbishops  of  haps,  David  or  Nathy,  the  father  of  Senach, 

Dublin,"  pp. ,21  to  23.  was  also   the   father   of  St.  Rumold.     To 

31  See   "Kalendars  of  Scottish  Saints,"  escape  a  difficulty  which  occurs  in  the  Life  of 

P-  442-  our  saint,  that  his  father  had  been  without 

33  The    Martyrology    of  Mechlin   states,  children,  this  is  supposed  referable  to  St. 

that   St.  Rumold  had  been  Archbishop  of  Rumold's  mother  alone.     By  her,  or  by  any 

Dublin  ;  and  hence,  as  well  as  from  other  other  woman,  it  is  thought  he  had  nolegiti- 

documents,   Molanus  justly  argued  against  mate  offspring,  excepting  our  saint, 

some   persons,   who— taking  advantage  of  37  See  Annotationes,  p.  78. 

the  name  Scotia  as  being  the  country  of  his  3«    See  vita  S.  Rumoldi,    cap.  i.,  auctore 

birth — strove  to  make  him  a  native  of  the  Domynsio,  p.  15. 

present  Scotland.  39  See  De  Burgo's  "  Officia  propria  Sanc- 

»  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan'i  "  Ecclesiastical  torum  Hibernix,"  Noct.  ii.,  Lect.  iv,,  p.  65. 

ry  of  Ireland,"   vol.  iii.,   chap,  xix.,  <°  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "Ecclesiastical 

sect,  xv.,  n.  169,  p.  200.  History  of   Ireland,"  vol.    iii.,  chap,  xix., 

3*  Molanus  says,  that  old  documents  of  the  sect,  xv.,  n.  171,  p.  201. 

church  of  Mechlin  make  him  son  of  a  King  ♦«  See  Theodoric's  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  cap. 

David,  which  name  is  supposed,    by  Rev.  2,  p.  2. 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


sary  to  seek  additional  fruit  from  the  parent  trunk,  when  one  of  its  branches 
produced  more  than  sufficient  to  spread  fertility  around.  It  is  related,  that  the 
saint's  father  ruled  over  a  principality,  called  Gueruiana.  This  prince  was  a 
man  of  remarkable  prudence,  as  also  exceedingly  wealthy  and  powerful.'*2  In 
the  comments  of  Fathers  Ward  and  O'Sheerin,  some  attempts  are  made  to 
investigate  the  exact  personality  of  this  king,  and  the  location  of  his  princi- 
pality.^ Having  stated,  that  no  place,  called  Gueria,  Gueriana,  Guaria,  or 
Guaruiana  can  be  found  in  Scotland  ;  it  is  thought,  there  are  several  places 
in  Ireland,  which  bear  an  affinity  to  such  names.  Among  others,  in  the 
ancient  territory  of  Breffny  O'Reilly,  there  is  a  mountain  well  known  as  Sliabh 
Guere ;  there  is  another  castle,  in  the  county  of  Galvvay,  called  Durlas 
Guere  ;44  there  is  another  place,  called  Gort-insi-Guere,  near  the  former,  an 
inheritance  of  the  O'Shaughnessys  ;4*  and  another  village  is  known,  lying 
between  Dublin  and  Wexford — distant  from  one  place  twenty-three  miles  and 
thirty-seven  miles  from  the  other — this  was  called  Guere  an  Ri.  This  latter 
place  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  city  belonging  to  our  saint's  father,  and 
which  was  named  Gueruiana.  Some  conjectures  have  been  hazarded,46  to 
show,  that  St.  Rumold  was  an  Anglo-Saxon,  who  had  embraced  the  monastic 
state  at  Mayo,  and  that  having  heard  of  St.  Willibrord's  progress  in  Belgium, 
he  went  to  that  country,  and  thence  to  be  qualified  for  the  mission  to  Rome, 
where  he  was  consecrated  bishop.4?  Then  it  was  thought,  that  he  returned 
to  Belgium,  and  thus  had  been  advanced  to  the  See  of  Mechlin.  But  he  was 
an  Irishman  48  by  birth,  and  a  Scot  of  the  original  Scotia.  The  Martyrology 
of  Mechlin  brings  St.  Rumold  from  that  part  of  Scotia,  which  is  now  called 
Ireland. 

We  may  take  it  for  granted,  that  much  of  the  story  which  follows  is  purely 
imaginary,  but  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  legend  of  St.  Rumold's  Acts.  Being 
without  children,  David  his  father  felt  desirous  of  having  a  son,  who  might 
inherit  his  principality  ;  however,  his  marriage  did  not  appear  to  accomplish 
the  king's  wishes,  for  a  long  time.  The  pious  couple  had  frequently  offered 
prayers  in  the  churches,  and  had  exercised  other  works  of  piety,  so  that  the 
Almighty  would  be  pleased  to  grant  an  heir,  for  their  large  possessions.  It 
is  said,  they  entreated  the  holy  Gualafer4? — then  Archbishop  of  Dublin  s° 
according  to  St.  Rumold's  Life — that  he  too  would  implore  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity,  in  their  behalf.  The  prelate  prostrated  himself  in  prayer  with  the 
king  and  queen.     An  angel  then  appeared  to  them,  saying  these  words  : 


42  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  cap.  i.,  auctore  propagated  the  Catholic  faith  in  foreign  coun- 
Domynsio,  pp.  14,  15.  tries,   or  who  illustrated  it  by  their  blood. 

43  See  Animadversiones  in  utramque  prse-  See  De  Burgo's  "  Officia  Propria  Sanctorum 
cedentem  historiam  Vita?  S.  Rumoldi,  De  Hibernise,"  pp.  65,  66.  Also,  the  same 
auctoribus,  pp.  74  to  78.  writer's    "  Hibernia  Dominicana,"  cap.  i., 

44  This  was  formerly  a  residence  of  Guaire  num.  xiv.,  p.  22. 

the  Hospitable,  King  of  Connaught.  49  This  mode  of  spelling  is  supposed  by 

45  This  clan  claims  descent  from  Guaire  Rev.  Dr.  Lani»an  to  be  identical  with  the 
the  Hospitable.  name  Gallagher. 

46  By  Soller.  s°  it  must  be  remarked,  according  to  the 

47  The  hypothesis  of  Soller  is  mentioned,  best  authorities  on  Irish  history,  that  at  this 
but  it  has  not  been  adopted,  in  the  "  Gallia  period  there  was  no  archbishop,  or  even  a 
Christiana,"  tomus  v.,  at  Ecclesia  Mech-  diocesan  bishop,  at  Dublin  ;  but,  it  is  sup- 
liniensis.  posed,  the  foreign  writer  had  been  led  into 

48  The  opinion  of  Rumold  having  been  a  the  error  of  assigning  Gaulafer  to  this  See, 
native  of  Ireland  was  so  universally  admitted,  through  ignorance  regarding  the  Ecclesiasti- 
that  the  learned  Pope,  Benedict  XIV.,  in  a  cal  History  of  our  Island.  See  Rev.  Dr. 
letter  written  to  the  Catholic  Bishops  of  Ire-  Lanigan's  "Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ire- 
land, and  dated  August  15th,  1741,  reckons  land,"  vol.  iii.,  chap,  xix.,  sect,  xv.,  p.  198, 
him  among  the  great  Irish  saints,  who  either  and  n.  170,  p.  201. 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i. 


*  Abandon  your  grieving,  for  the  queen  shall  bear  a  son,  most  fair  in  body 
and  pleasing  to  God,  and  he  shall  bring  many  to  Christ,  from  the  errors  of 
heathenism. "s1  After  this  announcement,  the  queen  conceived  a  son,  who 
was  born  in  due  course  of  time.  Her  infant  was  exceedingly  beautiful,  and 
Rumold's  birth  afforded  his  parents  great  joy.  Gualafer  was  selected  to 
administer  the  rite  of  baptism. sa  Yet,  when  his  parents  were  called  upon,  to 
name  their  child,  they  felt  at  a  loss  to  agree  upon  that  matter.  Whereupon,  the 
prelate  said  :  "  This  child  has  been  asked  of  God  and  given  by  him.  I  there- 
fore entreat  you,  prostrate  in  prayer  with  me,  to  offer  your  prayers  devoutly  to 
the  Almighty,  that  as  he  bestowed  upon  us  this  infant,  so  he  may  also  indi- 
cate for  us  a  suitable  name."  After  prayer,  an  angel  stood  before  the  bishop, 
and  commanded  him  to  give  the  name,  Rumold,  to  the  boy.  This  order  was 
instantly  obeyed.53  Whilst  even  yet  an  infant,  it  seemed  as  if  Rumold  were 
destined  by  heaven,  for  the  exalted  mission  and  sanctity  of  his  after  life.  It 
is  related,  that  by  Divine  inspiration,  he  fasted  thrice  on  each  week — on  the 
second,  fourth,  and  sixth  days ;  using  only  suck,  once  on  the  return  of  these 
days,  without  taking  any  other  nourishment.  The  same  days  were  afterwards 
observed  by  him,  in  a  course  of  rigid  fasting,  at  a  more  advanced  period  of 
his  life. 

At  the  age  of  five,  his  parents  resigned  him  to  the  charge  of  Guala- 
fer, to  be  instructed  in  learning  and  virtue  ;5^  and,  under  care  of  this  prelate, 
he  remained  until  his  fifteenth  year.  Then,  he  was  withdrawn  by  his  father 
to  the  palace,  where  he  was  to  be  instructed  in  all  princely  accomplishments. 
But,  regal  pomp  and  honours  seemed  to  have  little  attractions  for  the  mind  of 
this  holy  youth,  who  endeavoured  always  to  acquire  a  spirit  of  most  profound 
humility,  and  who  spent  day  and  night  in  prayer,  while  under  the  paternal 
roof.  All  the  temporal  possessions  he  acquired  were  given  to  the  poor  ;  he 
attended  to  the  wants  of  infirm  persons,  and  of  those  in  prison ;  while  he 
showed  the  greatest  affability  and  submission  to  all  belonging  to  his  father's 
household.  Thus,  he  fulfilled  in  a  most  perfect  manner,  the  various  precepts 
of  God. 55  Whilst  engaged  in  prayer,  at  a  late  hour  of  night,  the  Angel  of  our 
Lord  once  appeared  to  him,  and  said  :  "  O  Rumold,  child  of  good  disposi- 
tions, the  Most  High  hath  elected  and  loved  thee,  because  for  his  name  thou 
hast  rejected  worldly  honours  and  delights.  He  is  about  to  bestow  on 
thee  a  heavenly  crown,  in  place  of  the  temporal  one,  which  is  thy  due. 
Wherefore,  thou  shalt  persevere  in  what  thou  hast  undertaken,  and  thou  shalt 
not  fail  to  follow,  in  the  footsteps  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Rejecting  pomp 
and  worldly  applause,  preserve  as  a  flower  thy  chastity  unsullied.  Be  humble 
towards  all,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  bestow  alms  on  the  poor  and  destitute. 
Religiously  instruct  the  people  given  or  to  be  given  to  thy  charge  ;  treat  the 
Church  of  God  and  its  ministers  with  honour  and  love.  In  fine,  always  pre- 
serve yourself  free  from  bad  actions,  and  from  impure  thoughts  ;  for,  beyond 
doubt,  the  Most  High  will  direct  your  acts,  by  enlightening  your  mind  and 
in  guiding  your  steps."  Having  spoken  these  words,  the  angel  disappeared. 
Immediately  Rumold  resolved  upon  leaving  all  earthly  possessions  for  the  sake 
of  Christ  and  the  Gospel.s6  He  said  :  "  I  give  thee  thanks,  O  Almighty  God, 


5'  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyns-  53  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyn- 

sio,  cap.  n.,p.  15.  sio,  cap.  iii.,  p.  16. 

■■ ''Gualafer  is  mentioned  as  Bishop   of  54  See  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  i.,  "  Bishops  and 

Dublin  l,y  Molnnus,  but  no  particulars  are  Archbishops  of  Dublin,"  p.  305. 

related  01  him,   except  that  he  baptized  bis  55  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyn- 

Rumold."— John    D'Alton's  sio,  cap.  iv.,  pp.  16,  17. 

Memoii»oftheAi                    (Dublin/'  ■    Bishop    Chalknor'a    "Britannia 


21 


Sancta,"  part  ii.,  July  I,  p.  2. 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


who  hath  thus  deigned  to  instruct  me.  I  pray  thee  then,  through  the  great- 
ness of  that  bounty  and  love,  with  which  thou  hast  favoured  the  human  race, 
when  from  the  highest  heaven  and  from  the  right  hand  of  thy  Father,  thou 
hast  descended  to  this  vale  of  tears.  Here,  as  true  man,  O  most  loving  Jesus, 
thou  hast  wished  to  endure  penury,  hunger,  thirst  and  heat ;  likewise  con- 
tumely, injury,  derision,  and,  in  fine,  a  most  ignominious  death,  according 
to  the  prediction  of  the  Prophets.  I  pray,  that  thy  bitter  passion  may  not  be 
inefficacious  as  regards  me,  thy  servant.  As  thou  hast  promised,  I  entreat 
thee,  always  to  have  a  care  over  me,  and  lead  me  into  the  way  of  thy  com- 
mandments ;  that,  at  length,  after  this  life  is  over,  I  may  deserve  a  heavenly 
crown,  for  which  I  have  left  an  earthly  kingdom."  In  these  pious  sentiments, 
our  saint  persevered  as  he  grew  up,  and  he  was  loved  by  all  on  account  of 
his  extraordinary  virtue.57 

Some  time  after  this  occurred,  Rumold's  parents  took  counsel  with  the 
magnates  of  their  principality,  as  we  are  informed,  to  devise  a  suitable 
matrimonial  alliance  for  their  son.  When  a  long  time  had  been  spent  in  these 
consultations,  his  parents  desired  Rumold  to  be  summoned  to  their  presence. 
During  this  interval,  he  had  been  engaged  at  prayer,  within  his  oratory.  When 
he  attended  the  summons  of  his  parents  and  their  counsellors,  they  told  him 
the  purpose  for  which  they  were  assembled,  viz.,  that  they  might  be  able  to 
obtain  for  him  the  hand  of  some  lady,  distinguished  by  her  illustrious  birth. 
Thus  they  entertained  a  hope,  that  legitimate  offspring  might  succeed  to  the 
inheritance,  on  the  death  of  Rumold's  father.  To  these  remarks  the  saint 
replied  :  "  My  honoured  parents  and  magnates,  I  entreat  you,  do  not  allude  to 
this  subject.  I  have  renounced  for  ever  this  world's  vain  honours,  and  woman's 
companionship  ;  for,  I  have  entirely  devoted  myself  to  God,  my  Creator,  and 
I  have  resolved  to  preserve  chastity  in  this  body.  For  the  Lord  Jesus,  who 
rejected  an  earthly  kingdom,  hath  commanded  me  to  follow  him  in  poverty, 
in  humility,  and  in  austerity.  Forsooth,  you  may  consider,  in  what  manner 
an  earthly  kingdom  and  the  blandishments  of  woman  should  profit  me ; 
when,  in  a  short  time,  I  must  leave  them,  having  nothing  to  give,  in  gratitude 
for  numberless  benefits  I  have  received.  Wherefore,  I  beseech  you,  abandon 
those  designs  j  for  I  have  determined,  while  breath  remains  in  this  body,  to 
lead  a  pious,  chaste  and  holy  life."  Our  saint's  mother  endeavoured  to 
change  his  resolution,  by  saying,  that  she  felt  surprised  her  son  set  such  little 
value  on  his  principality  ;  and,  the  more  so,  as  in  his  station  of  life,  he  could 
apply  himself  to  every  practice  of  devotion.  Rumold  replied :  although 
such  might  be  the  case,  this  opinion  admitted  of  some  doubt ;  for,  if  a  man 
engaged  in  much  worldly  business  should  lead  a  blameless  life,  yet,  as  a  con- 
sequence, the  soul's  pious  aspirations  must  necessarily  be  weakened.  Where- 
fore, he  was  resolved  to  adopt  a  more  secure  course,  by  avoiding  altogether 
the  allurements  of  this  world.*8  On  hearing  these  remarks,  his  father  remem- 
bered Gualafer's  predictions  before  Rumold's  conception.  Moved  by  them, 
he  felt  more  inclined  to  consult  for  his  son's  wishes  than  did  his  mother. 
Wherefore,  his  father  left  Rumold  free  to  adopt  whatever  state  of  life  he  had 
resolved  on ;  notwithstanding  his  own  and  his  counsellors'  previous  deter- 
mination. 59 


57  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyn-  Lect.  iv.,  p.  65. 

sio,  cap.  v.,  pp.  17,  18.  S3  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyn- 

58  <<  Regales  Nuptias,  et  Regnum  sibi  a  sio,  cap.  vi.,  pp.  18,  19. 

Parentibus  oblatum,  constantissime  recusa-  *>  See  De  Burgo's  "  Officia  Propria  Sanc- 

ret." — De   Burgo's  "Officia  Propria  Sane-  torum  Hibernise,"  Die  Prima  Julii,  Noct.  ii.f 

torum  HiberniEe."  Die  prima  Julii,  Noct.  ii.,  Lect.  iv.,  p.  65. 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July 


It  appears,  however,  that  Archbishop  Gualafer,  as  he  is  called,  died  shortly 
afterwards  ;  and,  the  canons  of  his  cathedral  church,  according  to  their  cus- 
tom, assembled  together,  to  elect  a  successor.  But,  at  this  meeting,  they 
were  by  no  means  unanimously  agreed,  as  to  the  object  of  their  choice. 
Adopting  the  advice  of  a  religious  and  wise  man,  they  prayed  to  ascertain  the 
will  of  heaven  regarding  that  person,  who  should  be  called  to  discharge  the 
office  of  bishop.  Their  prayers  were  heard,  for  an  Angel  sent  from  Heaven 
announced  these  words  :  "  The  Almighty  hath  heard  your  prayers,  and  also 
hath  commanded  me  to  indicate  the  nomination  of  Rumold.  He  is  an  only 
son  to  the  Scottish  King,  and  he  should  be  the  Archbishop  of  your  unanimous 
choice.  The  Eternal  God  hath  designed  him  for  this  office,  as  being  humble 
in  spirit,  abstemious  in  his  habits,  a  lover  of  chastity  and  of  charity,  as  like- 
wise one  who  advances  each  day  in  perfection."  These  words  directed  the 
regards  of  all  towards  Rumold;  but,  he  as  little  desired  ecclesiastical  as  civic 
dignities  or  emoluments.60  It  is  said,  that  having  confirmed  his  election,  they 
called  upon  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  two  other  Bishops,61  to  assist 
at  his  consecration.62  These  prelates  assented  to  the  requirementsof  the  canons, 
and  they  were  received  with  great  honour.6*  These  bishops  also  confirmed 
Rumold's  election,  and,  in  company  with  the  canons,  and  a  great  number  of 
clergy,  they  approached  his  father's  court,  bearing  sacred  banners.  The  king 
was  not  a  little  surprised  at  their  approach.  He  received  them,  however,  with 
great  respect,  and  he  enquired,  at  the  same  time,  their  reason  for  approaching  a 
worldly  prince,  with  such  unwonted  demonstrations.  The  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury 6*  hereupon  explained  to  the  king,  that  his  only  son  had  been  elected 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,6*  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  canons,  and  having  his 
own  confirmation  of  their  choice.66  However  circumstantially  these  particu- 
lars have  been  narrated,  yet  there  do  not  appear  to  have  been  bishops  in 
Dublin,  prior  to  the  eleventh  century. 


61  These  two  bishops,  according  to  John 
Gilmans,  author  or  compiler  of  "  Hagiolo- 
gium  Rubne  Vallis,"  belonged  to  London 
and  to  Lincoln.  The  Codex  Tungrensium 
Canonicorum  Regularium  has  a  similar 
statement.  The  Irish  commentators  on  the 
Acta  S.  Rumoldi  are  doubtful,  however,  as 
to  whether  such  assertion  be  a  mere  conjec- 
ture, or  as  resting  on  some  certain  autho- 
rity.     See  Annotations,  &c,  nota  6,  p.  82. 

62  The  Fathers  of  the  Council  of  Nice  de- 
creed, that  it  should  be  desirable  and  that  all 
the  Bishops  of  the  province  ought  to  assist  at 
the  consecration  of  a  newly-elected  Bishop ; 

r,  if  this  were  found  to  be  a  great  in- 
convenience, owing  to  the  length  of  the 
journey,  or  because  of  instant  necessity,  at 
least  three  should  assist  at  such  consecration. 
Such  is  the  statement  as  found  in  the  Fourth 
Canon  of  that  Council,  quoted  by  Most  Rev. 
Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  Bishop  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Bal- 
timore, in  his  "Theologia  Moralis."  He 
adds  :  "Ad  episcopatum  conferendum  ex 
lege  Ecclcsiae  ties  requiruntur  episcopi : 
.  .  .  Sufficere  tamen  unum  episcopum 
at  valent  consecratio,  plurimis  probatur  dis- 
pensationibus  pontificiis  vetustis  et  recentio- 
ribus,  aliUque  vctcrum  exempli*." — Vol.  iii., 


Tract   xxi.      De  Ordine,  cap.  i.,  sect,   ii., 
num.  12,  p.  273. 

63  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyn- 
sio,  cap.  vii.,  pp.   19,  20. 

64  Bishop  Burke  has  a  statement  concern- 
ing St.  Rumold  having  been  consecrated  in 
the  cathedral  of  Dublin,  by  Cuthbert,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  See  "  Officia  Propria 
Sanctorum  Hibernia-,"  Die  prima  Julii.  In 
Festo  S.  Rumoldi.  II.  Nocturno  Lect.  iv., 
p.  65. 

65  The  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan  will  not  allow, 
that  there  were  bishops  even  in  Dublin,  in 
these  times  when  St.  Livinus,  St.  Disibod, 
or  St.  Rumold  flourished.  He  remarks  : 
"  Ware  has  judiciously  omitted  these  pre- 
tended Bishops  of  Dublin,  prior  to  the 
eleventh  century ;  but  Harris  has  foisted 
them  into  his  additions.  I  must  here  ob- 
serve, that  some  modern  writers  are  not 
sufficiently  cautious  in  distinguishing  Ware's 
original  work  from  Harris'  interpositions." 
— "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland," 
vol.  iii.,  chap,  xix.,  sect,  xv.,  n.  170,  p.  200. 

66  The  words  of  the  Martyrology  of  Mech- 
lin have  been  copied  into  the  Office  of  the 
Lateran  Breviary,  with  this  sole  difference, 
that  instead  of  archbishop,  it  makes  him 
bishop. 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


CHAPTER    II. 

RUMOLD  CONSENTS  TO  ACCEPT  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHARGE  AND  HE  IS  DULY  CONSECRATED 
—HIS  LABOURS  AS  A  BISHOP— ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  FAITH  IN 
DUBLIN— AN  ANGEL  ADMONISHES  ST.  RUMOLD  TO  SEEK  A  MORE  DISTANT  FIELD 
FOR  HIS  ADMINISTRATIONS — HE  LEAVES  IRELAND  FOR  ENGLAND,  AND  THEN 
VISITS  FRANCE — HE  TRAVELS  TO  ROME — HIS  INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  POPE — 
RECOMMENDED  TO  VISIT  BELGIUM  AS  THE  FUTURE  SCENE  FOR  HIS  CAREER — 
MIRACLES— FAVOURABLY  RECEIVED  AT  MECHLIN  BY  COUNT  ADO— BIRTH  OF  HIS 
SON  LIBERTUS— THE  LATTER  MIRACULOUSLY  RESTORED  TO  LIFE— RUMOLD  COM- 
MENCES THE  ERECTION  OF  A  CELL  AT  MECHLIN,  AND  THERE  HE  BUILDS  A 
CHURCH  IN   HONOUR  OF  THE   PROTOMARTYR  ST.  STEPHEN. 

The  Archbishop  and  clergy  asked  the  monarch's  consent,  as  we  are  told,  so 
that  he  would  allow  his  only  son,  and  the  heir  of  his  kingdom,  to  be  conse- 
crated Bishop,  according  to  the  heavenly  choice  made  of  him.  Already 
aware  of  his  son's  destination,  the  king  assented  to  the  Archbishop's  and 
canons'  wishes.  He  thanked  them,  also,  for  the  honour  to  be  conferred  upon 
himself  and  upon  his  son.  At  the  same  time,  he  told  them,  that  Rumold  was  then 
engaged  at  prayer.  He  brought  the  prelates  with  their  attendants  to  that  part 
of  the  palace,  where  our  saint  had  secluded  himself.  The  Archbishop  thus 
addressed  him :  "  O  Rumold,  inflamed  with  the  love  of  God,  before  thou  wert  con- 
ceived in  thy  mother's  womb,  the  Almighty  hath  called  thee  to  be  Archbishop 
over  Dublin,  and  shepherd  of  his  flock;  that  you  may  feed  Christ's  sheep  with 
the  sweet  pasturage  of  the  Divine  word,  that  you  may  teach  them  to  worship 
and  reverence  God  himself,  and,  moreover,  that  you  may  illustrate  Christ's 
Church  with  your  blood.  Wherefore,  come,  joyfully  prepare  thyself  for  that 
state  to  which  the  Lord  Jesus  calls  thee,  whom  thou  shalt  follow  and  rever- 
ence with  love  and  willingness.  For,  behold,  we  have  decided,  on  making 
you  Archbishop  of  Dublin  ;  and  the  whole  body  of  canons,  by  angelic  moni- 
tion, hath  elected  thee,  as  their  chief  prelate."  On  hearing  such  words, 
Rumold  felt  greatly  alarmed,  saying,  he  was  unworthy  of  such  a  dignity.  He 
endeavoured  by  every  possible  argument,  to  exempt  himself  from  undertaking 
those  arduous  duties,  to  which  he  was  called.  At  last,  not  wishing  to  dis- 
obey the  call  of  Heaven,  Rumold  humbly  submitted  to  the  Archbishop.  He 
was  then  conducted  to  the  cathedral  church.  There,  according  to  the  Roman 
ceremonial,  he  was  inaugurated  Archbishop,  with  great  pomp  and  rejoicing. 
This  being  accomplished,  the  consecrating  prelates  retired  to  their  respective 
dioceses ;  taking  leave  of  the  newly-appointed  Archbishop  and  of  his  royal 
parents.  These  latter  even  gave  thanks  to  God,  for  the  dignity  to  which  their 
son  had  been  called ;  and  they  exhorted  him  to  persevere  in  a  work,  he  had 
so  happily  commenced.  They  entreated  him,  likewise,  to  offer  up  his  con- 
stant prayers  for  the  prosperity  of  themselves  and  of  their  subjects.  Taking 
leave  of  his  parents,  Rumold  commended  them  to  the  care  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity.1  Having  now  received  a  commission  for  preaching  the  Divine  word, 
his  first  sermon  was  delivered  on  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  commenced  with 
those,  words,  taken  from  St.  John's  Gospel :  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  word." 
He  dilated  on  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  and  he  explained  the  whole 
Gospel  of  that  beloved  disciple  to  his  people.  Rumold  preached  many 
sermons  in  addition,  and  he  drew  several  to  a  profession  of  Christianity,  from 
the  errors  of  unbelief.  These  were  probably  strangers,  who  had  frequented 
Dublin  City,  at  the  time,  for  the  sake  of  commercial  or  other  pursuits  ;2  while 
besides  these,  he  gained  an  abundant  harvest  of  souls,  by  his  teaching  and 

Chapter  ii. — *  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,       cnfhedral  church  of  Dublin  had  been  for- 
auctore  Domynsio,  cap.  viii.,  pp.  20,  21.    It       nierly  dedicated  to  the  Most  Holy  Trinity. 
is  a  coinciding  circumstance,  also,  that  the  2See  ibid.,  Annotationes,  &c,  n.  7,  p.  83. 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July 


miracles.  3     Many  who  professed  the  Christian  religion,  but  who  lived  in  a 
state  unworthy  of  their  profession,  were  moved  to  penance  for  their  sins. 

If  we  are  to  credit  some  of  the  later  writers  of  St.  Patrick's  Acts,  the  Irish 
Apostle  had  built  a  church  in  Dublin— then  a  small  village— when  he  is  said 
to  have  arrived  there,  on  his  way  to  Munster.*  This  was  called  after  him,  and 
it  is  stated,  also,  that  he  built  a  mansion,  near  the  present  site  of  Christ's 
Church.5  However,  such  account  seems  only  to  rest  on  unreliable  twelfth 
century  traditions.  On  the  old  Maps  of  Ireland  by  Ptolomy,  Eblana  is  set 
down  as  the  ancient  name  for  Dublin.6  When  it  had  an  ecclesiastical  origin 
may  be  questioned  ;  but,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  were  any  bishop  there,  until 
the  Scandinavians,  who  built  walls  around  it,  became  converted  to  Christianity. 
This  must  have  been  long  after  the  time,  when  St.  Rumold  is  said  to  have 

flourished.  The  site  on 
which  the  present  Cathe- 
dral of  Christ  Church — 
formerly  the  church  of 
the  Most  Holy  Trinity — 
stands  is  supposed  to  have 
been  given  by  Sigtryg, 
Kingofthe  Dublin  North- 
men, to  Donough,  Bishop 
of  the  Irish  and  Danes  of 
that  city,  about  the  year 
1038.7  This  prelate  con- 
structed the  nave  and 
wings  of  the  cathedral, 
and  at  subsequent  periods, 
succeeding  Bishops  and 
Archbishops  of  the  See 
added  other  construc- 
tions. It  was  also  liberally 
endowed  with  lands  and 
revenues.  The  history  of 
this  cathedral  has  never 
been  fully  written  ;  yet,  it 
should  furnish  materials 
for  a  large  volume.  At 
different  times,  it  fell  into 
decay,  when  it  underwent 
many  unsightly  repairs. 
In  our  own  day,  a  large 
amount  of  money  has  been 
expended  on  a  complete 
restoration,8  but  for  pur- 
poses of  Protestant  worship.*  The  architectural  features  of  this  cathedral 
before10  and  since  have  been  very  fully  described.  Its  historic  reminiscences 
must  be  gleaned  from  various  sources.11  It  seems  more  than  probable,  if  St. 
Rumold  had  been  consecrated  as  bishop  when  in  Ireland,  it  must  have  been 
for  some  other  See  than  that  of  Dublin,  and  in  some  other  place.  It  is  use- 
less to  enquire  further  into  this  matter,  as  no  means  have  been  left  for  us  to 
form  any  tangible  supposition. 


Christ  Church  Cathedral,  West  Front,  Dublin. 


»  According  to  some  accounts,  St.  Rumold 
was  only  a  missionary  or  a  regionary  bishop, 


without  any  fixed  See. 
Seasons,"  p.  183. 


-"The  Circle  of  the 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  n 


The  saint  furnished  a  living  example  of  holiness  to  all  by  his  piety  and 
charity,  as  likewise  by  his  extraordinary  abstinence,  constant  labours  and 
vigils.  His  humility  and  lowliness  of  spirit  reconciled  him  to  the  privation 
of  many  things,  which  were  necessary  for  his  station ;  and,  whatever  he 
possessed  or  was  entitled  to,  he  distributed  among  the  poor,  in  Christ's  name." 
After  he  had  ruled  over  his  diocese  for  some  time,  being  engaged  at  prayer 
about  the  middle  of  the  night,  and  as  formerly  to  St.  Joseph/3  so  an  angel 
appeared  to  Rumold,  saying  :  "  Depart  from  thy  paternal  kingdom  and  arch- 
bishopric, into  foreign  countries."  It  appears,  from  his  Life,  that  the  chiefs 
of  his  father's  principality  had  resolved  on  electing  our  saint  to  the  throne,  in 
anticipation  of  the  reigning  king's  death.  To  him,  Rumold  was  the  only 
lawful  heir.  Revolving  what  had  been  declared  by  the  angel,  and  considering 
that  our  Lord  Jesus  himself  left  his  heavenly  kingdom  to  descend  upon  earth, 
where  he  suffered  much  on  account  of  the  love  he  bore  our  race  ;  Rumold 
resolved  in  like  manner  to  obey  the  Divine  will,  by  leaving  his  native  country. 
He  thus  took  up  his  cross,  in  a  voluntary  spirit,  and  not  being  compelled 
thereto,  like  Simeon  the  Cyrenean,  as  the  author  of  his  Life  remarks.  The 
better  to  accomplish  his  object,  our  saint  left  his  native  country,  in  a  private 
manner,  and  without  his  designs  being  made  known  to  the  people,  lest  they 
might  seek  to  detain  him,  against  his  will.14  The  saint  embarked, 
it  is  stated,  on  board  a  vessel  formed  of  branches  woven  together, 
and  covered  with  hides,  the  interstices  of  which  were  coated  with  pitches 
He  first  sailed  for  England.  He  afterwards  went  to  France.  There, 
he  found  a  man  who  was  blind  from  his  birth,  and  who  asked  for 
alms.  Rumold  replied:  "I  have  neither  silver  nor  gold,  nor  anything 
else,  which  I  can  give  thee ;  but,  I  entreat  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  of  his 
Divine  will  opened  the  eyes  of  a  man  born  blind,  that  he  also  would  give 
thee  sight,  who  hast  been  deprived  of  it  from  thy  earliest  years.  In  his  name, 
I  say  to  thee,  arise  and  see,  that  thou  mayest  obtain  by  thy  labour  food  for 
thy  sustenance."  The  man  was  immediately  restored  to  the  use  of  his  sight, 
giving  thanks  to  God  and  to  his  servant  Rumold ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  he 
made  a  vow  in  presence  of  the  Almighty,  and  in  the  name  of  his  Blessed 
Virgin  Mother,  that  from  this  time  forward,  he  would  serve  them,  with  entire 
self-abandonment.  This  miracle  induced  many  pagans,  to  profess  the  faith  of 
Christ  and  to  receive  baptism.  Several  were  moved,  also,  to  a  detestation  of 
sin,  and  to  observe  practices  of  penance.16     Having  remained  for  some  days 

*  See  the  account  already  given,  in  the  Architecture  in  Ireland." 
Third  Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  17th  of  "  Much  may  be  found  in  the   "  Book  of 

March,  Art.   i.,  in  the  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  Obits    and   Martyrology  of  the   Cathedral 

chap.  xvii.  Church    of  the    Holy   Trinity,   commonly 

5  See  Colgan's  "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  called  Christ  Church,  Dublin,"  edited  by 
SextaVitaS.  Patricii,  cap.  Ixxi.,  p.  91,  and  John  Clarke  Crosthwaite,  A.M.,  with  an 
nn.  70,  71,  72,  p.  112.  Introduction,    by  James  Henthorn    Todd, 

6  See  Sir  James  Ware,  "  De  Hibernia,  et  D.D.  Published  by  the  Irish  Archaeological 
Antiquitatibus  ejus,"  cap.  x.,  pp.  43,  44.  Society,  Dublin,  1844,  4to. 

7  See  John  T.  Gilbert's  "  History  of  the  I2  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn- 
City  of  Dublin,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  98,  99.  sio,  cap.  ix.,  pp.  2l;  22. 

8  An  extensive  distiller  and  citizen  of  I3  See  Miss  Rosa  Mulholland's  "  Prince 
Dublin,  Mr.  Roe,  expended  more  than  and  Saviour  :  The  Story  of  Jesus  simply  told 
^100,000  on  this  undertaking.  The  architect  for  the  Young,"  p.  29. 

was  Mr.  Street.  I4  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn- 

9  The  accompanying  illustration  represents       sio,  cap.  x.,  p.  22. 

the  great  western  entrance  on  Winetavern-  IS  These   were    the   coiraghs    regarding 

street  as  lately  renovated.      From  a  photo-  which  Sir  James  Ware  treats,  in  his  work, 

graph    of  William  Laurence,   William    F.  "  De     Hibernia    et    Antiquitatibus    ejus," 

Wakeman  has  drawn  this   subject   on   the  cap.  xviii.,  pp.  84  to  86. 
wood,  engraved  by  Mrs.  Millard.  6  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Damyn 

10  See  Thomas  Bell's   "  Essay  on  Gothic  sio,  cap.  xi.,  p.  23. 


i2  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i. 


in  France,  Rumold  entered  Upper  Germany,  where  he  announced  the  Gospel 
truths.  Whilst  there,  he  was  accosted  by  a  pagan,  who  was  a  leper.  He  thus 
addressed  Rumold:  u  If  thou  art  a  holy  man,  as  they  say  thou  art,  give  me 
some  alms."  Rumold  said  :  "  I  have  no  temporal  alms  to  bestow  on  thee, 
but  I  will  give  thee  spiritual  favours.  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  cured  ten  lepers,  arise  from  this  place  in  which  thou  art ;  then,  trusting 
in  God,  believe  in  him,  and  presently  thou  shalt  be  healed  from  thy  leprosy.'' 
The  leper  arose  immediately,  and  his  whole  body  was  relieved  from  his 
loathsome  disease.  Believing  in  Christ,  he  was  baptized  by  our  saint,  who 
then  admonished  him  to  avoid  sin  for  the  future.  This  miracle  also  furnished 
occasion  for  the  conversion  of  many  persons.'?  Having  preached  to  the 
people,  Rumold  journeyed  among  the  mountains  and  valleys,18  which  lay  be- 
tween Germany  and  Italy.  He  announced  the  Gospel  to  the  inhabitants,  as 
he  proceeded.  On  his  way,  he  came  to  that  place,  where  Hannibal,  by  fire 
and  vinegar,  is  said  to  have  opened  a  passage  for  his  soldiers  through  the 
Alps,  when  marching  upon  Rome.  To  this  latter  city,  our  saint  also  directed 
his  course.  His  mind  was  filled  with  pious  desires,  while  his  body  suffered 
much  fatigue,  during  his  tiresome  progress. x9 

According  to  the  Life  of  our  saint,20  St.  Rumold  arrived  in  this  city, 
during  the  pontificate  of  Pope  Stephen  II.,  who  succeeded  Zacharias,  whose 
death  took  place  a.d.  752."  The  commentators  on  our  saint's  Life  are  of 
opinion,  as  this  Pope  Stephen  died  a  few  days  after  his  consecration,  it  must 
have  been  during  his  successor's  pontificate — also  called  Stephen  II.  by  many 
writers — that  our  saint  arrived  in  Rome ;  and  that  he  had  an  interview  with 
this  latter  Pontiff,  who  presided  over  Christ's  Church,  for  the  term  of  five 
years.  In  the  opinion  of  Ward  and  Sirin,  our  saint  must  then  have  had  this 
interview,  with  Pope  Stephen  III.,  during  the  year  of  his  accession,  752,  or 
during  the  following  year,  before  he  went  into  France.  What  they  consider 
more  probable  is,  that  after  this  Pope's  return  from  France,22  and  about  the 
year  755,  Stephen  accorded  him  an  audience.  On  being  introduced  to  him, 
Rumold  threw  himself  at  the  Pontiff's  feet  and  kissed  them  with  reverence. 
He  then  besought  the  Pope  to  take  the  ring  of  consecration,  which  he  had 
received,  when  he  had  been  consecrated  Archbishop  of  Dublin.  Full  of 
admiration,  the  Pope  thus  addressed  him  :  "  Who  art  thou,  son,  what  is  thy 
name,  and  where  is  that  Archiepiscopal  See,  thou  hast  mentioned  ?"  The  saint 
replied:  "Rumold  is  my  name;  I  am  a  native  of  Scotia ;  and  the  Archbishopric 
of  which  I  spoke  is  Dublin."  The  Pontiff,  who  had  heard  of  our  saint's  fame 
long  before,  then  said  :  "  O  son,  thou  art  born  legitimate  heir  to  the  Scottish 
kingdom  ;  of  thee,  I  had  long  ago  heard  a  most  favourable  report ;  and  I  was 
told,  thou  wert  divinely  collated  to  that  Archbishopric.  On  this  account, 
beloved  son,  seek  thy  kingdom,  and  subdue  the  intractable  people  of  that 
country  to  Christ's  sweet  yoke  ;  lest  wandering  into  error  they  may  go  astray. 
Like  an  nctive  shepherd,  bring  this  people  to  the  flock  of  Christ,  that  is,  to 
eternal  lite."  Hearing  these  words,  the  saint  replied  :  i(  O  holy  father,  this 
is  by  no  means  allowable;  for  Christ  himself,   the  chief  shepherd  of  souls, 

1  See  ibid.,  cap.  xii.,  p.  24.  of  Devotion,  July    1st.     This  work,   pub- 

"  Allusion  must  here  be  made  to  Switzer-  Iished  in  London,  1869,  4to,  is  not  parcel, 

land,  to  which  before  his  time  the  light  of  "  This   happened   in    754.     See    l'Abbe 

the  Gospel  had  been  brought  by  St.  Colum-  Fleury's  "Histoire  Ecclesiastique,"  tome  ix., 

ban  and  St.  Gall.  liv.  xliii.,  sect,  xv.,  p.  348. 

'»  See  Vita  S.   Rumoldi,  authore  Theo-  a3  This  account   is  irreconcilable  with  the 

dorico,  cap.  2,  p.  2.  known  history  of  Dublin   City,  as  given  in 

ao  By  Domyns.  Charles   Haliday's  "Scandinavian   History 

ai  "  He  visited  Rome  about  th(!  year  750.''  of  Dublin,"  book  i.,  chap.    i.  to   x.,   pp.    1 

— *'  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  from  ancient  Books  to  81. 


July  i.j  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  13 

hath  announced  in  the  Gospel,  unless  a  man  renounce  his  parents  and  all 
things  in  the  world,  he  cannot  enjoy  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Wherefore,  holy 
father,  since  I  have  been  taught  by  the  angel,  to  adjust  my  life  according  to 
Gospel  rules,  I  have  proposed  to  take  leave  of  those  things,  which  belong  to 
the  world.  For  this  reason,  I  ask  your  holiness  for  spiritual  blessings,  and  I 
give  what  is  worldly  to  earthly  princes.  Thus  deprived  of  all  things,  I  have 
determined,  so  long  as  I  live,  to  imitate  Jesus  Christ,  who  bore  poverty  for 
us."  Having  discovered  the  bent  of  our  saint's  disposition,  the  Pope  con- 
sented to  gratify  his  desires,  by  receiving  his  resignation  of  Dublin  See.2*  To 
this  another  Bishop  was  appointed.2*  These  matters  being  thus  arranged,  our 
saint,  filled  with  joy,  visited  those  monuments  of  the  saints,25  and  especially 
those  sacred  spots  where  St.  Peter  was  crucified,  where  St.  Paul  was  beheaded, 
and  where  other  saints  suffered  martyrdom.  With  most  earnest  desires  and 
profuse  tears,  Rumold  prayed  the  Almighty,  that  he  too  might  merit  the 
martyr's  crown.  Having  visited  all  those  places,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  again 
appeared  to  him  while  at  prayer.  This  heavenly  messenger  said  :  "  Thou 
shalt  not  endure  martyrdom  in  this  place.  But  return,  by  the  same  way  thou 
earnest  hither,  until  thou  shalt  come  to  where  the  River  Scaldis  26  empties 
itself  into  the  sea,  and  where  it  flows  along,  following  the  moon's  course. 2? 
For  thou  shalt  sanctify  that  country,  by  thy  holy  example,  and  there  shalt 
thou  possess  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  being  crowned  with  laurels  of  martyr- 
dom." Rumold  gave  thanks  to  God,  who  had  thus  deigned  to  indicate  the 
place  of  his  triumph.28 

On  the  following  morning,  our  saint  reverently  went  to  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  and  asked  his  permission  to  seek  the  district  for  his  future  suffering. 
He  also  besought  the  Pope  to  bestow  various  indulgences  on  that  place  pointed 
out  by  the  angel.  The  Pontiff  said  :  "  Since  thou  desirest  no  rewards,  but 
such  as  are  eternal,  I  will  not  detain  thee  longer.  But  go,  and  proceed 
where  the  Lord  Jesus  hath  called,  through  his  angel ;  there,  being  perfect 
in  every  virtue,  give  encouragement  to  the  weak,  by  thy  holy  doctrine  and 
piety.  Bring  back  to  religion,  likewise,  through  thy  fervent  prayers,  those  who 
have  been  estranged  from  Christ.  Moreover,  by  authority  of  the  omnipotent 
God,  whose  viceregent  I  am  upon  earth,  and  of  his  holy  Apostles,  Saints  Peter 
and  Paul,  I  bless  the  place  of  thy  habitation  ;  that  whoever  may  seek  the 
Divine  favour  in  it,  shall  obtain  all  lawful  requests,  through  thy  merits.  In 
that  spot,  be  happiness,  holiness,  benediction  and  every  good \  that  those  who 
dwell  there  may  prosper,  even  in  worldly  and  material  things,  which  you  so 
much  despise,  whenever  in  the  same  place,  they  implore  God  through  your 
merits.  May  they  also  rejoice  and  be  delighted  with  Divine  and  everlasting 
benefits,  to  which  you  alone  aspire."  Bidding  farewell  to  the  Pontiff,  and 
being  thus  divinely  admonished  to  go  into  Belgic  Gaul,29  Rumold  left  Rome, 
desirous  to  take  possession  of  that  place,  indicated  by  the  angel.3° 

While  Rumold  journeyed  through  Lombardy,31  he  found  many  persons  in 
lamentation,  at  a  particular  station,  where  they  demanded  his  assistance.  He 

24  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn-  28  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Theo- 
sio,  cap.  xiii.,  pp.  24,  25.                                         dorico,    cap.    2,    pp.    2,   3.      Also   Vita   S. 

25  See  Bishop  Challenor's  "  Britannia  Rumoldi,  authore  Domynsio,  cap.  xiv., 
Sancta,"  part  ii.,  July  1st,  p.  2.  pp.  25,  26. 

26  The  River  Demer  is  now  the  name  of  39  See  Bishop  Challenor's  "  Britannia 
that  rivulet,  near  which  Mechlin  is  located,       Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  2. 

and  it  falls  into  the  Dyle.     See  the  "  Gazet-  3°  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn- 

teer  of  the  World,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  862.  sio,  cap.  xv.,  p.  26. 

27  The  river  alluded  to  runs  from  east  to  3'  Before  the  Roman  Conquest,  Lombardy 
west,  in  its  general  direction.  It  is  a  branch  had  been  occupied  by  a  powerful  colony  of 
"of  the  Scaldis  or  Scheld.  the  Gauls.      About  the  middle  of  the   fifth 


i4  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i. 


was  told,  that  a  certain  person  there  was  possessed  by  a  demon,  from  whom 
he  could  not  be  exorcised.  Our  Bishop  said  to  the  person  possessed :  "  May 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  expelled  a  mute  devil,  through  his  benign  mercy 
and  great  power,  restore  thee  to  health."  He  then  commanded  the  impure 
spirit  to  leave  that  man.  Immediately,  the  demon  departed;  while  the 
wretched  victim  seemed  more  like  a  dead  than  a  living  person,  on  account 
of  those  tortures  he  had  previously  suffered.  This  man's  friends  asked  our 
saint  to  restore  him  to  bodily  health,  as  he  had  thus  been  delivered  from  his 
mental  infirmity.  Then,  St.  Rumold  raised  the  man  from  earth,  with  his 
hand,  saying  :  "  Depart,  restored  creature,  nor  defile  yourself  any  longer  with 
crime.  But,  take  care,  that  you  recollect  this  hereafter,  and  that  you  com- 
mend me,  also  a  sinner,  to  Divine  protection."  The  man  was  thus  restored 
to  health  ;  so  that  many,  by  this  miracle,  were  powerfully  drawn  to  Christ.  32 
Setting  out  from  this  place,  Rumold  entered  Germany.  He  passed  on 
towards  the  Scheld,  until  he  came  to  Brabant, 33  where  he  stopped  at  the  pre- 
sent site  of  Mechlin,  that  place  designed  by  the  angel  for  his  future  habita- 
tion. This  district  was  then  a  waste  uncultivated  desert,  abounding  in  thorns, 
thickets,  trees,  and  wild  beasts.  In  this  region,  Rumold  found  a  great  number 
of  people,  dancing  to  the  sound  of  harps,  pipes,  and  other  musical  instru- 
ments; and  this  occurred,  about  the  time  when  the  Church  celebrated  our 
Lord's  Passion.  Seeing  this,  he  interrupted  their  amusements,  and  began  to 
preach  truths  of  the  Christian  religion.  He  announced  to  the  rude  people 
what  sufferings  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  endured,  for  our  salvation.  This  he 
accomplished,  with  such  effect  and  holy  energy,  that  the  people  were  wonder- 
fully animated  with  Divine  love,  and  to  some  extent,  they  were  imbued  with 
intelligent  ideas  regarding  the  Most  Holy  Trinity.  When  he  had  concluded 
his  sermon,  our  saint  retired  to  a  quiet  part  of  the  wood.  There,  he  devoted 
himself  to  exercises  of  Heavenly  contemplation. 34 

At  this  time,  Count  Ado  35  Was  governor  over  the  country  around  Mech- 
lin* He  is  said  to  have  been  a  kinsman  to  King  Pepin  of  France.36  He  had 
married  an  illustrious  and  a  virtuous  lady,  named  Elysa,37  with  whom  3s  he 
lived  for  sixty-six  years,  without  their  having  had  offspring.  However,  the 
probable  meaning  is,  that  Ado  was  sixty-six  years  of  age,  at  the  time  of  St. 
Rumold's  arrival  at  Mechlin. 35     The  pious  couple,  having  heard  concerning 


century,   it   was  overrun  by  Attila.     Later  3S  He  is  styled  "  Pipini  Fiancorum  Regis 

still,  Alboin,  King  of  the  Lombards,  sub-  cognato,"    in  De  Burro's   "  Ofiicia  Propria 

jected  it  to  his  sway  ;  hence  the  name  it  now  Sanctorum  I Iibernise,"  Die  prima  J  ulii.     In 

bears.    Kiny  lVpin  of  France  invaded  Lorn-  Festo   S.    Rumoldi,    Noct.    ii.,    Lect.    v., 

hardy  in  754,  and  subdued  its  ruler  Aistol-  p.  66. 

phus.     He  undertook  another  expedition,  36  For  an  account   of  the  Acts   of  this 

A-u-  755»  when  he  compelled  Aistulphus  to  heroic  monarch,  the  reader  is  referred  to  le 

restore  the  possessions,  and  to  respect  the  P.    G.    Daniel's    "  Histoire    de    France," 

rights  of  the  Church  of  Rome.     See  Rev.  tome  i.,  Seconde  Race,  pp.  507  to  551. 

John  Alzog's  "Manual  of  Universal  Church  37  Also  called  Adeliza,   the  dau-hter  of 

History,"  translated  by  Rev.  F.  J.  Pabisch  Lambert,  a  chief  of  llasbania.     See  John 

and  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Byrne,  vol.  ii.,  Second  P>aptist  Soller's  "Acta  S.  Rumoldi  Fpiscopi 

,  Epoch  i.,  part  i.,  chap.  2,  sect.  165,  et    Martyris    Apostoli    et    Patroni    Mceh- 

p.  105.  liniensium,"    p.   92,    n.     (e),      Antverpiie, 

.e  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn-  1718,  fol. 

sio,  cap.  xvi.,  pp.  26,  27.  38  According  to  the  Life  of  St.  Rumold.     ' 

31  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of  the  39  Such  is  the  commentator's  opinion,   in 

Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints,  '  case  it  should  not  be  supposed  that  the  noble 

vol.  vii.,  July  1.  Count  had  attained  his  hundredth  year,  at 

34  See  Vita  S.   Rumoldi,    authore  Theo-  the  time  of  our  saint's  death.     See  Annota- 

dorico,  cap.  3,  p.  3.    Also,  VitaS.  Rumoldi,  tiones,  &c,  n.  13,  p.  85. 

authore  Domynsio,  cap.  xvii.,  p.  27.  40  See  Vita   S.   Rumoldi,   authore  Theo- 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  15 


the  commencement  of  our  saint's  missionary  labours  in  their  province,  sent 
him  word,  that  they  desired  the  honour  of  a  visit  from  him  to  their  palace. 
Having  accepted  this  invitation,  the  .prelate  was  most  honourably  received  on 
his  approach,  and  treated  with  the  greatest  hospitality.  In  return  for  this 
kindness,  Rumold  refreshed  the  minds  of  his  guests  with  Gospel  precepts. 
Among  other  duties,  he  exhorted  them  to  bestow  alms  on  poor  persons,  as 
being  a  work  most  acceptable  to  God.  The  Count  ordered  an  apartment  to 
be  fitted  up  in  his  palace,  for  the  special  accommodation  of  our  saint.  In 
this  chamber,  also,  Rumold  would  have  an  opportunity  of  offering  up  prayers 
to  Heaven,  for  their  salvation.40 

One  day,  while  our  saint  was  in  their  palace,  the  Count  and  his  lady  com- 
plained, that  they  had  long  lived  in  the  holy  state  of  matrimony,  without 
having  children  to  inherit  their  principality,  after  death.  Wherefore,  they 
entreated  Rumold  to  offer  rdevout  prayers,  for  them.  Raising  his  eyes 
towards  Heaven,  he  thus  prayed  :  "  I  give  thee  thanks,  O  Almighty  Father, 
for  all  the  favours  conferred  upon  me,  and  especially,  because  thou  hast  never 
heard  thy  servant,  without  lending  a  gracious  ear.  And  now,  most  merciful 
Father  and  bounteous  Lord,  confiding  in  thy  great  clemency,  I  suppliantly 
beseech  thee,  that  thou  reject  not  my  humble  prayers.  I  entreat  thee,  that 
thou  hear  me,  as  thou  hast  heard  Abraham,  who  had  a  son,  named  Isaac, 
born  to  him  of  his  wife  Sara,  who  was  old  and  sterile.  Thou,  likewise  hast 
heard  the.  prayer  of  Manue,41  when  his  wife,  who  was  a  long  time  barren,  gave 
birth  to  Sampson,  a  most  robust  man,  she  having  received  comfort  from  an 
Angel.  Also,  thou  hast  deigned  to  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  servant  Anna,  a 
long  time  childless  and  who  brought  forth  the  prophet  Samuel  to  Helcan  ;43 
and  thou  hast  given  John  the  Baptist,  to  his  unfruitful  mother,  Elizabeth.4^ 
Thou  hast  wished,  also,  O  Lord  Jesus,  to  be  born  of  thy  most  pure  Virgin 
Mother,  in  a  miraculous  manner.  Wherefore,  I  entreat  thee,  on  behalf  of 
these  thy  servants,  to  exert  thy  omnipotence  for  thy  honour  and  glory,  that 
those  may  obtain  legitimate  offspring,  through  thy  immense  clemency.  Deign,, 
also,  in  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  to  send  them  offspring."  Having 
thus  prayed,  and  gifted  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  our  saint  declared,  that 
the  Count's  lady  should  shortly  conceive,  and  bring  forth  a  son,  remarkable 
for  his  beauty,  talents  and  virtue.  Rumold  declared,  likewise,  that  this  child- 
should  afterwards,  be  .baptized  by  himself,  be  adopted  as  a  god-child/*4  and 
be  named  Libertus.  So  much  faith  was  given  to  these  promises,  by  the 
religious  Count  Ado  and  his  wife,  that  they  trusted  a  child  should  be  born  to 
them,  although  contrary  to  all  natural  appearances.4^  .  In  accordance  with 
their  expectations,  the  Countess  conceived,  and  in  due  course,  she  gave  birth 
to  a  son.  This  circumstance  caused  great  joy  to  her  husband,  and  to  all  his 
people.  The  pious  couple  presented  their  newly-born  babe  to  the  Most  High, 
accepting  their  son  as  a  gift  from  Heaven.  Being  baptized  by  Rumold,  this' 
infant  was  called  Libertus.  Finding  all  things  predicted  by  Rumold  now 
accomplished,  the  Count  turned  to  him  and  said  :  "Most  holy  Bishop,  thy 
wonderful  power  and  inimitable  virtue  have  been  fully  manifested,  in  thy 
son  Libertus  ;  and,  I  acknowledge  myself  indebted  to  thee,  for  many  reasons.. 
Wherefore,  choose  a  place  for  thyself,  where  thou  mayest  dwell  permanently  ; 
and,  be  it  my  privilege,  to  reverence  thee  as  a  father,  and  as  a  most  faithtul 

dorico,    cap.    3,    p.    3.       Also,    Vita    S.  44  "  Suscipiendum  velut  lustrico  parente." 

Rumoldi,    authore   Domynsio,    cap.   xviii.,  ■ — Vita   S.    Rumoldi,    authore    Domynsio, 

p.  28.  cap.  xix.,  p.  29.                                                « 

41  Judges,  xiii.  4S  See  De  Burgo's  "  Officia  Propria  Sanc- 

42  See  i.  Kings,  i:  torum  Hiberniae,"   Die    prima  Julii.       In 
«  See  Luke,  ii.  Festo  S.  Rumoldi,  No.ct.  ii.,  Lect.  v.,  p.  66. 


16  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i. 


friend."  Accordingly,  Rumold  complied  with  the  Count's  wishes  ;  while  the 
boy  Libertus  grew  up,  the  darling  of  his  parents  and  of  their  people.  This  child 
appeared  to  progress  in  virtue,  each  day.  He  was  known  frequently  to  dis- 
tribute bread  among  the  poor.  He  always  offered  up  a  prayer  for  the  salva- 
tion of  those  whom  he  met.  He  well  applied  every  lesson  of  piety  given  to 
him,  and  he  avoided  whatever  might  displease  God.  He  was  so  much  loved 
by  his  parents,  that  they  hardly  suffered  him  to  be  out  of  their  sight,  for  a 
moment,  even  when  engaged  in  those  sports  peculiar  to  youth/6 

Notwithstanding  this  great  care  bestowed  upon  him,  whilst  one  day  play- 
ing with  his  young  companions  beside  some  water,  and  pursuing  small 
birds  with  childish  delight,  Libertus  approached  too  near  the  edge  of  a  bank, 
when  he  was  precipitated  into  the  river  and  drowned.*?  This  account  was 
immediately  conveyed  to  his  father,  who,  in  an  agony  of  grief,  wrung  his  hands. 
With  eyes  elevated  to  Heaven,  Ado  cried  out :  "  O  Father  Almighty,  what 
have  I  done,  that  thou  shouldest  afflict  me  with  this  grief?  When  that  day, 
on  which  in  thy  goodness  thou  hast  made  me  joyful  by  giving  me  a  son, 
occurs  to  my  mind  ;  I  am  agonized  with  sudden  grief,  because  death  has 
snatched  him  from  a  wretched  father.  Alas  !  what  consolation  can  be  afforded, 
for  the  loss  of  my  own  and  my  wife's  dear  child,  so  suddenly  taken  away  from 
us?  You,  that  ardently  loved  me,  why  have  you  called  me  fortunate  ?  rather 
should  you  call  me  wretched  ;  for  now  1  am  afflicted  with  a  grief,  far  greater 
than  the  joy  I  first  received.  Let  my  older  friends  mourn  with  me,  and  let 
my  younger  omit  their  sports,  for  sake  of  my  departed  child.  It  has  profited 
me  little,  to  have  had  Libertus  as  a  son ;  since  misfortune  shall  prey  upon 
me,  and  I  must  pine  away  with  grief,  for  the  rest  of  my  life.  My  joy  and 
comfort  have  at  once  vanished,  as  a  dream.  O,  my  dear  son,  my  flower,  my 
support,  the  most  beautiful  of  children,  hereafter,  I  shall  no  more  embrace 
thee  as  my  child,  nor  shalt  thou  inherit  thy  father's  wealth  and  possessions. 
If  thou  hadst  been  taken  away  by  any  kind  of  natural  death,  this  at  least  might 
afford  some  solace  to  thy  parents."  While  he  indulged  in  this  paroxysm  of 
grief,  running  towards  him,  the  Countess  enquired  the  cause  for  his  lamenta- 
tions ;  and,  on  being  told,  she  fell  senseless  to  the  ground,  when  her  atten- 
dants bore  her  way.  All  the  people  living  within  their  province  deeply 
sympathised,  in  the  affliction  of  these  bereaved  parents.  Young  and  old 
hastened  to  the  river,  to  find  the  noble  youth's  body.  In  boats,  and  by 
swimming  or  by  diving,  some  persons  endeavoured  to  find  the  object  of  their 
search.  Standing  on  the  bank,  some  held  consultation  as  to  how  their  object 
might  best  be  effected.  Some  drew  nets  along  the  bed  of  the  river ;  others 
used  hooks  and  drags,  for  a  like  purpose.  The  divers  employed  could  find 
no  trace  of  the  body.  After  all  their  efforts  had  been  unavailing,  it  occurred 
to  them,  that  Rumold,  by  whose  prayers  that  youth  had  obtained  the  first 
breath  of  life,  should  be  sent  for,  that  through  him  also,  the  boy  might  be 
brought  again  into  the  land  of  the  living.  Messengers  were  despatched  for 
God's  servant,  then  absent  from  Mechlin/8 

About  this  time,  a  holy  man  named  Gummar49  was  born,  and  he  was  edu- 
cated in  the  village  of  Embleem,  in  the  province  of  Renensis.s°  He  was  one  of 

46  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Theodorico,  31,  32. 

cftP-  3»  P-  3-  Als0  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  4y  This  saint— also  called  Gundemar— had 

Domynsio,  cap.  xix.,  xx.,  pp.  28  to  30.  his  festival  at  the  nth  of  October. 

«  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,    "Vies  del  s«  Other  writers— such  as  Molanus,  Gram- 
Saints,"  tome  vii.,  ic  Jour  de  Juillet,  p.  582.  may  and   Miiceus— have   the  name  Riensis, 

48  See  Vita   S.    Rumoldi,  authore  Theo-  and  it  is  stated   to  have  been  that  part  of 

dorico,   cap.   3,  p.  4.      Also  Vita  S.  Ru-  Brabant,  in  which  Antwerp,  Lira  and  other 

moldi,    authore  Domynsio,  cap.  xxi.,   pp.  towns  were  included. 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


King  Pepin's  military  companions,  and  he  often  contended  against  heathens, 
who  made  inroads  upon  the  French  and  Belgium  territories.  This  man  em- 
braced a  religious  course  of  life,  from  his  youth,  and  he  had  formed  a  friend- 
ship with  our  saint.  Both  these  illustrious  servants  of  God  had  a  place 
appointed,  where  they  met  at  stated  times,  to  discourse  on  religious  subjects. 
That  place  was  known  as  "  the  Oak,"*1  and  probably  from  the  circumstance, 
that  a  tree  of  this  kind  grew  at  the  spot.  We  are  informed,  that  this  place — 
anciently  called  Stanteyck*2 — was  an  intermediary  station,  between  their 
respective  places  of  residence  ;  and,  each  year  they  met  at  this  spot,  many  of 
the  people  and  clergy  being  also  present.  It  is  said,  that  both  these  saints 
were  accustomed  to  fasten  their  staves  in  the  ground,  near  the  oak.  Their 
staffs  produced  leaves,  in  the  presence  of  people  there  assembled.  The 
memory  of  such  a  miracle,  as  also  that  place  becoming  a  favourite  rendez- 
vous for  the  saints,  afterwards  occasioned  an  annual  festival  to  be  held;  while 
great  numbers  of  the  people  and  clergy  assembled  there,  to  engage  in  religious 
exercises." 

After  an  interval  of  three  days,  Rumold  was  informed  about  the  melancholy 
occurrence  of  the  death  of  his  alumnus,  Libertus.  Then,  coming  to  the  place 
where  he  had  been  drowned,  the  holy  Bishop  shed  tears,  in  common  with 
others  who  were  around  him.  While  those  tears  flowed,  Rumold  raised  his 
eyes  towards  Heaven,  and  prayed  the  Almighty  with  earnestness,  that  Liber- 
tus might  be  restored  to  his  parents  and  to  life.  As  he  prayed,  a  great  crowd 
of  persons  stood  around,  awaiting  the  event.  Before  the  Bishop  had  con- 
cluded his  prayer,  Libertus  appeared  standing  before  him,  and  as  if  after 
awaking  from  sleep,  for  his  hair,  face  and  garments  seemed  dry  and  unsoiled. 
The  boy's  parents,  their  friends,  and  all  the  people  rejoiced  greatly,  when 
they  saw  this  much-loved  youth  restored  to  life.54  In  the  exuberance  of  his 
joy  and  gratitude,  Count  Ado  offered  the  saint  a  great  quantity  of  gold  and 
silver,  as  a  reward.  But  the  man  of  God  rejected  these  gifts,  saying  :  "  O 
illustrious  Count,  I  am  not  able  to  obtain  these  favours,  through  my  own 
power,  but  relying  on  Divine  assistance.  For  which  reason,  you  should  refer 
what  you  have  obtained,  to  the  all  powerful  God ;  through  the  aid  of  whom 
alone,  these  things  were  done  by  me,  his  servant.  I  have  long  since  rejected 
temporal  things,  which  thou  hast  offered  me,  as  being  earthly  and  evanesent. 
They  might  become  to  me  an  occasion  of  sin.  But,  near  this  place  lies  an 
uncultivated  marshy  spot,  abounding  in  trees;  a  spot  producing  alders,  thorns, 
yews  and  brambles.  In  the  name  of  God,  I  ask  this  tract  of  land  to  be  given 
by  thee  for  no  other  purpose,  than  that  it  may  be  permitted  me  there  to  cele- 
brate the  Divine  praises,  with  God's  ministers."  The  Count  was  much 
pleased  with  this  suggestion ;  and,  the  more  so,  as  the  place  selected  was  not 
far  from  his  own  residence.  At  once,  he  gave  his  sanction  to  the  saint's  pro- 
ject. Rumold  obtained  a  remote  part  of  the  wood,  which  was  frequented 
much  by  wolves  and  by  other  wild  animals.  There  he  built  a  cell  for  him- 
self," and  which  he  used  as  a  place  of  residence.*6  It  was  surrounded  by  a 
trench,  filled  with  water.  Rumold  laboured  at  this  work  of  construction,  with 


s1  The  Codex  Tungrensis  calls  this  place  S4   See  John  Baptist    Soller's  "  Acta  S. 

Stadeley  ;    while  Haraeus  in    his  Vita   S.  Rumoldi,  Episcopi  et  Martyris  Apostoli  et 

Gummari  writes  it  Stadeki.  Patroni  Mechliniensium,"  cap.  v.,  sect.  32, 

sa  This   name   was  afterwards   corrupted  33,  p.  93. 
into  Seaedeneyck.     See  Grammay's  work,  ss  At  a  later  period,  a  college  of  Regular 

"De  Antverpia,"  lib.  ivM  cap.  8.  Canons  occupied  its  site.     See  Les  Petits 

S3  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyn-  Bollandistes,  "Vies  des  Saints,"  tome  vii., 

sio,  cap.  xxii.,  pp.  32,  33.  ieJour  de  Juillet  p.  582, 

B 


1 8  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAIISTS.  [July  i 


his  own  hands.  He  selected  some  companions,  who  were  renowned  for 
sanctity,  to  celebrate  with  him  the  Divine  mysteries,  in  this  place.  By  a 
solemn  testament,  the  Count  confirmed  his  donation,  and  gave  special  privi- 
leges, for  the  future  protection  of  this  foundation.  There,  Rumold  built  a 
church  in  honour  of  the  proto-martyr,  St.  Stephen  -p  and  frequently  interrupt- 
ing his  exterior  functions  to  renew  his  spirit  before  God,  he  lived  many  years, 
in  that  place,  together  with  his  protege,  Libertus.s8  However,  these  state- 
ments have  been  questioned  by  Father  John  Baptist  Soller,5?  who  critically 
examines  the  circumstances,  as  found  in  history.  That  chapel,  which  the 
saint  is  said  to  have  built,  existed  in  the  time  of  Domyns,  the  author  of  his 
Life,60  as  we  are  informed  by  this  writer. 


CHAPTER     III. 


HIS  DISCIPLE  LIBERTAS  OBTAINS  THE  CROWN  OF  MARTYRDOM— LABOURS  OF  ST. 
RUMOLD — HIS  MARTYRDOM — MIRACLliS  AFTER  HIS  DEATH— CATHEDRAL  OF 
MECHLIN— VENERATION  IN  THIS  CITY — HONOURS  PAID  TO  ST.  RUMOLD— COM- 
MEMORATIONS OF   HIS   FESTIVALS— CONCLUSION. 

Under  the  guidance  and  precepts  of  St.  Rumold,  his  young  disciple  Libertas 
grew  up  in  the  practice  of  every  virtue  ;  while  moved  by  his  master's  example 
and  instruction,  he  learned  to  shun  all  dangerous  occasions  of  sin,  and  to 
detest  every  semblance  of  vice.  In  true  humility,  Libertas  laboured  to 
become  perfect ;  and,  he  was  destined  at  last  to  attain  heaven,  through  the 
crown  of  martyrdom.1  It  so  happened — probably  about  the  beginning  of 
the  ninth  century2 — that  the  Huns  or  Danes,  who  were  fierce  barbarians  and 
gentiles,  made  an  irruption  into  that  part  of  the  country  where  he  dwelt,  and 
they  devastated  the  cities,  towns,  churches  and  religious  houses,  with  fire  and 
sword,  not  only  in  the  Low  Countries,  but  even  so  far  as  Cologne.  The  holy 
man  Libertas  went  into  Hasbania  to  visit  his  relatives,  and  also,  as  it  seems, 
to  avoid  the  fury  of  those  pagans.  However,  their  ravages  extended,  like- 
wise, to  that  place,  and  the  people  were  obliged  to  flee  for  their  lives.  There, 
too,  the  sacred  edifices  fell  before  their  ravages.  Libertas  entered  a  church 
dedicated  to  St.  Trudo,3  where  he  was  surprised  by  the  barbarians.  He  then 
fled  towards  the  high  altar,  which  he  embraced,  but  he  was  massacred  by  the 
impious  intruders.     Having  demolished  several  Christian  houses  and  shrines, 


56  In  the  Vita  S.  Rumoldi  of  Theoderic,  sium,'"   Commentarius  Proevius,  sect,    xii., 
cap.   3,  p.   5,    is    added:    "  Nomen   loco  num.  130  to  141,  pp.   301033. 

Ulmus  ab  ulmorum  illic  luxuriantium  co-  6o  The  commentator,  however,  adds : 
piam."  In  a  comment  on  this  passage,  the  "sed  postmodum  anno  1580  a  Gensiis  dim- 
editor  supposes  this  to  be  the  place,  not  of  turn." — Annotationes,  &c,  n.  20,  p.  86. 
our  saint's  cell,  but  of  the  desert  in  which  it  Chapter  III. —  ■  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi, 
was  built.  See  Annotationes,  &c,  note  12,  auctore  Theodorico,  cap.  3,  p.  5.  His 
pp.  (recte)  63,  64,  65.  martyrdom,  however,   happened  long  after 

57  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of  the  that  of  St.  Rumold. 

Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints,"  a  In  the  Annales  Eginhardi,  the  invasion 

vol.  vii.,  July  i.  of  the  Low  Countries  by  the  Normans  we 

s*  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn-  find  chronicled  in  the  years  810  and  811 

sio,  cap.  xxiii.,  pp.  33  to  35.  3  The  festival  of  this  Belgian  saint  is  held 

59  See   "Acta  S.    Rumoldi  Episcopi    et  on  the  23rd  of  November. 

Martyris  Apostoli  et   Patroni  Mechlinien-  *  See  Vita  S.   Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyn- 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  19 


the  Huns  carried  off  their  preys  ;  and,  then,  after  causing  sad  scenes  of  deso- 
lation, they  returned  to  the  places  whence  they  had  come.4 

Our  saint  was  mindful  of  the  Apostolic  words  :  "  He  who  labours  not,  let 
him  not  eat,"  and  also  :  "  We  labour  with  our  hands,  that  we  be  not  a  burthen 
to  anyone."5  Exercising  himself  frequently  in  manual  labour,  he  still  con- 
tinued his  pious  prayers.  Thus,  it  was  his  practice,  to  sow  seeds  and  plant 
trees  of  various  kinds ;  and,  it  was  remarked,  that  whatever  he  sowed  or 
planted  produced  abundantly — a  heavenly  blessing  being  bestowed  on  his 
labours.  He  had  planted  a  certain  bush,  which  grew  much  fruit  of  an  excellent 
kind ;  and,  he  often  delighted  to  sit  under  the  shade  of  that  tree,  while  sing- 
ing hymns  and  reciting  the  Psalter  of  David.6  Hence,  our  saint  was  looked 
upon,  as  the  tutelar  or  patron  of  earth's  fruits  and  of  mechanic  arts.  It  was 
customary  for  the  country  people,  in  after  time,  to  invoke  his  patronage,  with 
these  expressions  :  "  May  God  and  St.  Rumold  assist  our  labours."  About 
this  time,  he  led  an  eremitical  life. 7  Many  were  accustomed,  in  course  of 
time,  to  pay  tithes  of  their  corn  and  fruit  to  this  saint.8 

Our  saint  engaged  at  the  building  of  a  chapel,  in  an  elegant  style.  He 
was  in  the  habit  each  evening  of  inspecting  this  work,  as  it  progressed,  that 
thus  he  might  punctually  pay  his  labourers  the  amount  of  wages  they  merited. 
He  was  mindful  regarding  these  words  of  Sacred  Scripture  :  "  Thou  shalt  not 
delay  the  wages  of  thy  workmen  until  the  morning."0  He  often  took  occasion  to 
admonish  them  about  the  necessity  for  leading  better  lives.  Among  other 
vices,  he  frequently  inveighed  against  the  crime  of  adultery.  It  appears,  that 
one  of  the  workmen  addicted  to  this  crime  was  inflamed  with  hatred  towards 
the  holy  prelate,  on  account  of  his  frequent  reproofs.  This  man  opened  his 
designs  to  another  companion,  whom  he  imposed  upon  with  representations, 
that  Rumold  must  have  a  great  sum  of  money  concealed,  as  he  was  not 
deterred  from  executing  any  work  on  account  of  its  cost.  A  proof  of  this 
assertion  was  sought  to  be  furnished,  likewise,  from  that  regularity  with  which 
his  labourers  were  paid  each  evening.10  This  workman  told  his  companion, 
moreover,  that  they  should  endeavour  to  better  their  condition,  and  in  an  easier 
way,  than  by  daily  labour,  which  was  not  so  remunerative.  He  recommended, 
for  this  purpose,  that  they  ought  to  murder  Rumold  in  a  private  manner,  and 
thus  escape  that  punishmentdue  to  their  crime.  They  arranged,  also,  to  plunge 
his  body  in  the  river  after  death.  The  tempted  man's  avarice  being  thus  excited, 
he  consented  to  become  participator  in  that  proposed  crime  of  the  adulterer. 
Wherefore,  arming  themselves  with  axes  and  mattocks,  they  endeavoured  to 
find  a  suitable  opportuninty,  for  putting  their  wicked  project  into  execution." 
Such  occasion  was  afforded  to  them  one  evening,  when,  according  to  his  usual 
custom,  the  holy  Bishop  was  about  to  inspect  the  progress  of  that  work  on 


sio,  cap.  xxiv.,  pp.  35,  36.  8  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn- 

s  ii.  Thess.  iii.,  8,  10.  sio,  cap.  xxv.,  p.  36. 

6  A  rather  different  version   of  this  cir-  9  Leviticus  xix.,  13. 

cumstance  is  given,  in  the  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  I0  "  Theodoric  states,  that  their  motive 

by  Theodoric,  as  follows  :  "  Fagineam  hoc  was  to  get  the  money,  which   they  thought 

negotio   nutriverat  sylvulam,    sub   quarum  the  saint  possessed  of,  and  adds  that  they 

plerumque    recubans    tegmine  meditabatur  had  been  attendants  of  his.     Probably,  they 

harmonium  Davidicee  melodise.     Ad  nostra  supposed  that  he  must  have  had  some  money 

usque  tempora  una  harum  perdurat  arborum,  about  him  towards  forwarding  the  object  of 

dulci  digna  religione,  et  grata  plantatoris  his  mission."— Dr.  Lanigan's  '   Ecclesiasti- 

sui  recordatione  excresit  ad  materiam  lau-  cal  History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  iii.,  chap,  xix., 

dis."— Cap.  8,  p.  8.  sect.xv.,  n.  172,  p.  201. 

i  This  is  stated,  by  an  ancient  writer,  as  "  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  J~>omvn- 

we learn  from  Mirwus' "  Fasti  Belgiciet  Bur-  sio,  cap.  xxvi.,  pp.  36,37-.    Also>  Vlta  S' 

gundici,"  p.  360.  Rumoldi,  authore  Theodonco,  cap.  4,  p.  5. 


26  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i 


which  they  were  engaged,  and  in  order  to  pay  his  labourers  at  the  close  of 
day.  The  cruel  murderers  selected  a  lonely  place,  where  they  attacked  the 
holy  man.  One  of  the  wretches,  with  a  stroke,  inflicted  a  deadly  wound  on 
the  prelate's  head.  He  fell  on  the  spot,  and  almost  instantly  breathed  his 
last.  When  his  purse  was  examined,  however,  it  was  found  to  contain  only 
three  pieces  of  silver.  This  confirmed  a  common  report,  that  the  saint  only 
kept  about  him,  what  was  sufficient  to  pay  his  men.  The  avaricious  mur- 
derer, hereupon,  began  to  upbraid  his  adulterous  companion,  who  had  urged 
him  by  deception,  to  the  perpetration  of  a  most  grievous  crime.  To  consult 
for  their  mutual  safety,  however,  they  agreed  to  submerge  St.  Rumold's  body 
in  water.  Afterwards,  drawing  the  branches  of  trees  over  it,  they  hoped  that 
it  might  not  be  discovered  by  the  people.  Thus,  because  like  John  the 
Baptist,12  St.  Rumold  had  reprehended  an  adulterer,  our  holy  prelate  merited 
his  crown  of  martyrdom.  The  assassination  of  St.  Rombaut  is  said  to  have 
taken  place  on  the  24th  of  June,  or  on  the  viii.  day  of  the  July  Kalends. x3 
He  passed  gloriously  to  his  reward,  during  the  seventh  year  of  Charlemagne's 
reign  over  the  Franks,  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  775. J*  The  English 
Martyrology I5  has  placed  his  martyrdom,  at  this  date,  and  various  other 
authorities  correspond.  This  is  the  year  also  assigned  for  the  martyrdom  of 
St.  Rumold,  by  Molanus,  Usher,  Pagi,  and  by  various  other  writers.16 

Having  gone  abroad,  about  the  middle  of  the  night,  certain  fishermen  saw 
a  brilliant  light  shining  over  the  water,  into  which  St.  Rumold's  body  had 
been  thrown.  On  what  side  soever  they  turned,  this  unusual  spectacle  met 
their  eyes.  Ignorant  concerning  the  cause,  these  fishermen  felt  terrified,  and 
they  feared  to  approach  that  place.  However,  they  went  to  Count  Ado,  with 
a  relation  of  such  an  occurrence.  He  was  much  astonished.  However,  he 
resolved  to  witness  the  prodigy  with  his  own  eyes.1?  Accordingly,  Ado  set 
out  in  the  middle  of  night,  and  accompanied  by  those  fishermen.  He  found 
all  things  to  happen  in  accordance  with  the  account  he  had  before  received. 
Suspecting  that  the  body  of  blessed  Rumold  must  have  lain  under  such  a 
preternatural  light,  he  ordered  the  fishermen  to  bring  their  fishing  drags  to 
that  place.  Those  having  obeyed  his  directions,  the  corpse  of  this  glorious 
martyr  was  at  once  discovered.  Immediately  when  drawn  from  the  water, 
Ado  recognised  the  countenance  of  his  lamented  friend.  Seeing  the  grievous 
wound  inflicted  on  St.  Rumold's  head,  the  Count  burst  forth  into  a  passionate 
exclamation  :  "  Who  hath  murdered  thee  so  cruelly,  O  holy  prelate,  and  most 
renowned  priest  ?"  His  tears  and  groans  choked  further  utterance.  After 
some  time,  the  Count  ordered  those  who  were  present,  to  bear  the  saint's 
body  away,  that  it  might  be  buried  in  that  chapel,  which  he  had  built  while 
living.  There,  Count  Ado  erected  a  beautiful  mausoleum,  to  the  memory  of 
his  beloved  friend.  Moreover,  he  bestowed  many  gifts  and  ornaments  on 
that  chapel,  in  which  Rumold's  remains  were  placed.  The  saint's  body  was 
covered  with  rich  vestments.     A  great  crowd  of  clergy  and  of  laity  afterwards 


"  See  St.  Matthew,  xiv.  "  hIC  C*s  Vs  Ce  CIdIt  fLUVIo  la  Ct  Vs 

13  According  to  the  Carthusian   Martyr-  ne   Ce   Capta."— Ibid.,   Vita   S.    Rumoldi, 

ology     or   Usuardus     Auctus,    printed    at  authore  Theodorico,  cap.  4,  p.  5. 

Cologne,  and  also  according  to  the  English  15  Printed  a.d.  1608. 

Martyrology,   printed   a.d.    1608.      Thus:  ,6  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "  Ecclesiastical 

"  MechlinME  in  Hrabantia  passio  S.  Rumoldi  History  of  Ireland,"   vol.  iii.,    chap,   xix., 

Episcopi  et  Martyris,   filii  cujusdam  Regis  sect,  xv.,  n.  173,  p.  201. 

Hibemise."  -7  See  Vita  S.   Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn- 

"  M  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn-  sio,  cap.  xxviii.,  pp.  38, 39.  Also,  Vita  S.  Ru- 

sio,  cap.  xxvii.,  p.  38.  "  Annus  antem  necatt  moldi,  authore  Theodorico,  cap.  4,  p.  5. 

tanti  Martyris,  hocce  versiculo  continetur :  x8  See  Vita  Rumoldi,  authore  Domynsio, 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  21 


resorted  to  his  tomb,  through  pious  motives,  and  to  offer  up  their  prayers  for 
spiritual  and  temporal  wants.  Those  attacked  by  maladies  were  restored  to 
health,  by  invoking  the  prayers  of  St.  Rumold.  The  Almighty  was  pleased 
to  work  various  miracles,  at  his  tomb,  as  a  testimony  to  the  sanctity  of  his 
servant.18 

Rumold  was  regarded  as  the  Apostle  of  all  that  region. x9  After  giving  us 
the  particulars  of  our  saint's  life,  Domyns  subjoins  a  remark  to  the  pre- 
face afterwards  introduced,  that  he  has  omitted  the  relation  of  many  miracles 
recorded  in  works,  from  which  his  biography  had  been  drawn,  in  order  to  give 
various  facts  regarding  the  elevation,  translation,  and  other  particulars,  con- 
nected with  St.  Rumold's  relics.  Theodoric  relates  some  miracles,  connected 
with  our  saint's  memory,  and  which  have  been  omitted  by  Domyns.  Their 
record  will  be  found,  in  the  concluding  chapters  of  that  short  Life,  which 
Theodoric  gives ;  and  to  these,  the  reader  is  referred,  for  a  more  extended 
relation  of  events,  connected  with  the  name  and  memory  of  this  great  servant 
ofGod.20 

When  several  years  had  elapsed  after  the  holy  martyr's  death,  Belgium  was 
overrun,  by  the  Danes  and  Northmen.  Yet,  notwithstanding  these  incursions, 
the  church  of  our  saint  and  his  shrine  remained  intact.21  During  these  incur- 
sions, which  prevailed  in  the  ninth  century,  the  inhabitants  of  Mechlin  were 
obliged  to  seek  a  place  of  greater  security.  The  citizens  and  canons,  as  we 
are  told,  judged  it  advisable,  to  remove  St.  Rumold's  shrine  to  the  fortified 
town  of  Steynockesel.22  This,  however,  is  deemed  to  be  improbable.2*  It  is  said 
likewise,  that  the  saint's  silver  reliquary  was  buried  there  in  the  ground,  for  better 
concealment. 2«  Even  then,  as  before,  many  miracles  were  wrought,  through 
Rumold's  intercession.  When  the  dangers  of  war  were  over,  the  body  was 
exhumed,  it  is  stated,  and  brought  back  to  its  former  place,  in  solemn  pomp, 
and  with  sacred  banners  unfurled.  At  this  time,  there  lived  at  Steynockesel 
a  Count,  who  suffered  from  a  certain  disease,  and  who  felt  unwilling,  that  the 
saint's  relics  should  be  removed  from  his  principality,  until  he  had  first  been 
restored  to  health.  The  clergy  advised  this  man  to  offer  up  his  prayers  to 
the  Almighty,  through  the  holy  martyr,  so  that  his  request  might  be  effectually 
obtained.  When  the  Count  asked  them  in  what  manner  he  should  pray,  he 
was  told,  that  he  should  abandon  his  crimes,  and  produce  acts  of  sincere  con- 
trition for  them,  so  that  he  might  propitiate  the  Divine  assistance.  Where- 
upon, the  whole  body  of  canons  went  upon  their  knees,  and  fervently  offered 
up  prayers  to  the  Most  High,  for  that  Count's  restoration.  Their  request  was 
favourably  heard.  The  canons  of  St.  Rumold  obtained  the  right  of  present- 
ment, in  Steynockesel  village,  as  a  reward  for  the  efficacy  of  their  prayers. 


cap.  xxix.,  pp.  39,  40.     Also,  Vita  S.  Ru-  to  Father  John  Baptist  Soller's  statement, 

moldi,  authore  Theodorico,  cap.  4,  pp.  5,  6.  that  in  the  time  of  Theodoric,   about  a.d. 

19  See   Bishop   Challenor's    "Britannia  1 100,  there  appears  to  have  been  no  disturb- 
Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  3.  ance  of  the  saint's  remains  from  the  church 

20  See  Vita  S.   Rumoldi,  authore  Theo-  cal]ed  after  him  in  Mechlin,  as  he  remarks 
dorico,  cap.  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  pp.  6  to  1 1.  regarding  the  first  burial  of  Rumold,  that 

21  See  Vita  S.   Rumoldi,   authore  Theo-  his  body  had  been  brought    "  quo  nunc  re- 
dorico,  cap.  5,  p.  6.  quiescit  loco."     See  the  Bollandists'  "Acta 

22  Otherwise  written  Steenockerseel,  and  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii  i.  De  Sancto 
it  has  been  Latinized  Okersalia  Petrea,  an  Rumoldo  Episcopo  et  Martyre  Mechliniae  in 
old  village  between  Louvain  and  Wilvord.  Belgio.  Commentarius  praevius,  sect,  xii., 
It  is  a  parish  specially  dedicated  to  St.  num.  130  to  141,  pp.  19810201. 
Rumold,  and  therefore  supposed  to  have  24  This  is  supposed,  by  Father  Ward,  to 
possessed  at  one  time  his  relics.  have  occurred  during  the  ninth  century.  See 

23  For  fuller  proofs,  the  reader  is  referred  Notae  in  Vitam  ex  Domynsio,  n.  23,  p.  87. 


22  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i. 


In  memory  of  this  privilege,  a  pendant  lamp  was  kept  constantly  burning 
day  and  night,  in  the  midst  of  the  choir  of  St.  Rumold's  canons.25 

It  is  not  wonderful,  that  the  fame  of  St.  Rumold  had  been  mainly  con- 
fined to  the  people  of  Mechlin  and  its  neighbourhood  for  nearly  two  centuries 
after  his  death,  owing  to  the  Norman  incursions.  In  the  time  of  Notger  or 
Notker,  bishop  of  Liege,26  and  temporal  ruler  of  Mechlin,  the  fame  of  St. 
Rumold  began  to  spread,  when  that  illustrious  prelate  restored  the  churches 
of  his  city,  and  also  founded  a  college  of  Twelve  Canons,  with  a  Dean  as  their 
head.  These  appear  to  have  been  attached  to  that  church  built  by  our  saint, 
and  endowed  by  Count  Ado  and  St.  Libertas.2?  In  honour  of  our  saint,  the 
celebrated  cathedral  of  Mechlin  was  built,  in  the  twelfth  century.28  Its  chief 
external  feature  is  the  fine  but  unfinished  Moresco  western  tower,29  which 
rises  to  the  height  of  348  feet,  and  which  is  surmounted  by  a  high  parapet  on 
the  top,  whence  a  delightful  view  of  the  city  beneath,  and  of  the  level  country 
surrounding  it,  may  be  seen  to  a  vast  distance.  In  a  separate  illustrated  work,3° 
relating  to  our  saint's  Acts,  we  are  presented  also  with  imposing  views  ;  one 
of  these  representing  the  present  magnificent  but  unfinished  tower,*1  which 
so  proudly  dominates,  not  alone  over  the  cathedral,  but  likewise  over  the 
whole  city  of  Mechlin.  The  other  view  presents  a  completed  design  which 
appears,  however,  to  have  been  abandoned,  or  at  least,  it  was  greatly  modified 
in  details,  before  the  present  structure  had  been  erected.  The  general  effect 
of  the  fine  Mechlin  cathedral  is  much  heightened  by  the  picturesque  enclosed 
yet  open  square,  in  which  it  stands.  The  general  appearance  of  the  whole 
building  is  gloomy  and  majestic.  The  plan  of  the  building  is  cruciform,  with 
a  bold  apse.  The  whole  interior — large,  lofty  and  elegant — is  groined.  The 
clerestory  is  formed  of  very  large  windows,  with  tracery  of  meagre  but 
tolerably  good  design.  The  triforia  in  the  choir  are  panelled,  while  in  the 
nave,  they  are  a  series  of  open  panelling.*2  Beyond  the  north  aisle,  a  row 
of  chapels  extends.  None  of  the  choir  chapels,  however,  except  the  Lady's 
chapel,  have  altars.     Externally  the  roof  has  no  crest. 33 

We  are  told,  that  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  and  the  performance  of  many 
miracles,  the  holy  martyr's  body  was  disentombed,  about  the  beginning  of  the 


25  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domynsio,  tails,  and  appearing  as  if  the  tower  were 
cap.  II,  pp.  41,  42.  completed  in  tall  and  tapering  proportions 

26  From  A.n.  972  to  A.D.  1007,  when  he  to  the  summit,  which  bears  a  cross  over  a 
died.  See  notices  of  him  in  Le  Dr.  Hoefer's  ball. 

"  Nouvelle    Biographie     Generale,"     tome  3°  This,  however,    is    only   a   reprint   of 

xxxviii.,  cols.  300,  301.  what    is  included   in   the    "Acta   Sancto- 

*7  See   the  Bollandists'    "  Acta    Sancto-  rum." 

rum,"  tomus  L,  Julii  i.  De  Sancto  Rumoldo  3I   See  John   Baptist  Soller's  "Acta    S. 

Episcopo  et  Martyre  Mechlini^e  in  Belgio.  Rumoldi   Episcopi    et  Martyris,     Apostoli 

Commentarius    proevius,    by    Father  John  et     Patroni    Mechliniensium,"     sect,    xx., 

Baptist   Soller,    sect,   viii.,  num.   83,     84,  p.  54. 

p.  187.  3*  The  piers  are  not  well  moulded  ;  they 

28  A  very  searching  and  full  enquiry  re-  are  cylindrical,  with  flowered  caps,  under 
garding  the  erection  and  progress  of  Mechlin  octagonal  abaci.  Statues  of  the  Apostles,  of 
cathedral  has  been  instituted  by  Father  John  a  late  date,  and  of  bad  design,  are  set  against 
Baptist  Soller,  in  the  "  Acta"  Sanctorum,"  each  pillar  in  the  nave.  Some  fragments  of 
of  the  Bollandists,  tomus  i.,  Julii  i.  De  late  Flemish  glass  yet  remain  in  the  win- 
Sancto  Rumoldo  Episcopo  Martyre  Mech-  dows. 

liniae    in  Belgio.     Commentarius  Praevius,  33  See  Rev.  Benjamin  Webb's     Sketches 

sect,  xix.,  xx.,  pp.  219  to  225.  of  Continental  Ecclesiology,"  pp.  10,  II. 

29  In  the  work  just  quoted,  there  is  a  3*  According  to  conjecture  about  the  year 
copper-plate  engraving  of  this  grand  tower,  803.  Annotationes,  &c,  nota  22,  pp.  86, 
as  it  appears  at  the  present  day,    as  also  a  87. 

design  beside  it,  differing  very  much  in  de-  M  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn- 


July  i  .]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  23 


ninth  century,34  and  that  it  was  found  to  have  been  buried  with  spices,  having  an 
aromatic  smell.  Then,  it  was  replaced  in  a  wooden  coffin  covered  with  a  silkgar- 
ment,  inwrought  with  threads  of  gold.  The  whole  was  placed  in  a  shrine  of  silver, 
and  it  was  erected  over  the  Blessed  Virgin's  altar,  in  the  hall  of  the  principal 
choir.35  Unless  the  foregoing  statement  refers  to  a  much  later  period,  there 
seem  to  be  no  grounds  which  warrant  it,  other  than  vague  and  uncertain  popu- 
lar traditions. 36  Three  brothers,  sons  ofUrso,  with  another  accomplice,  who 
had  murdered  the  illustrious  Thomas  a  Becket,37  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,38 
by  a  Divine  judgment  were  deprived  of  their  senses  of  taste  and  smelling.39 
Touched  with  remorse  for  their  crime,  those  guilty  men  left  England  for 
Rome,  to  obtain  absolution  from  Alexander  III. ,4°  who  then  filled  St.  Peter's 
chair.  After  he  had  heard  their  confession,  that  Pontiff  enjoined  it  as  a  pen- 
ance, that  they  should  make  a  pilgrimage  around  the  world,  until  they 
recovered  the  use  of  those  senses,  of  which  they  had  been  deprived.  In  pur- 
suance of  such  a  mandate,  they  came  to  Cologne,  on  the  Rhine.  There,  for 
the  first  time,  on  some  wine  being  presented,  they  found  the  usual  flavour 
and  aroma  of  that  juice  pressed  from  the  vine.  Thus,  they  found  their  sense  of 
taste  fully  restored.  Afterwards,  on  coming  to  Mechlin,  when  they  approached 
its  city  gate,  they  experienced  their  sense  of  smell  returning,  and  were  made 
sensible  of  bread  being  prepared,  through  action  of  their  olfactory  nerves. 
Wherefore,  full  of  joy  and  gratitude,  they  exclaimed  in  a  transport :  u  O  sacred 
Cologne  !  O  happy  Mechlin  I"  Afterwards,  they  returned  to  Rome,  with  an 
account  of  what  had  occurred.  Whereupon,  Pope  Alexander  bestowed  many 
special  privileges,  on  both  those  cities.  The  three  brothers  then  came  to 
Mechlin,  that  there  they  might  live,  for  the  remainder  of  their  days.  They 
built  some  houses  behind  St.  Rumold's  church,  where  the  miracle  had 
occurred  in  their  favour.  These  houses  afterwards  obtained  the  name,  Onder 
hoot  berghen,  in  the  Flemish  language.  These  brothers  died  at  Mechlin.*1 
About  the  year  1301,*2  according  to  Grammay,*3  the  city  of  Mechlin  was 
beset  by  a  host  of  enemies.  Its  citizens  placed  themselves  under  the  leadership 
of  a  certain  English  knight,  named  Peter  Dondelier.**  This  leader  demanded 


sio,  cap.  i.,  p.  41.  A  Life  of  Archbishop  Thomas  Becket,  in 

36  The  earliest  known  writer  of  St.  Ru-  Icelandic,  with  English  Translation,  Notes 
mold's  Acts  was  Theoderic,  who  died  in  the  and  Glossary.  Edited  by  Eirikr  Magnusson, 
fourth  century  after  the  subject  of  his  bio-  Sub-Librarian  of  University  Library, 
graphy  lived,-  or  about  AD.  1 107.  He  is  Cambridge,  vols,  i.,  ii.  London,  1875,  et  seq. 
silent  regarding  those  particulars  stated  in  the  8vo. 

text,  and  the  whole  of  this  matter  is  critically  39  This  incident  is  related  by  Domyns,  as 

examined  by  Father  John  Baptist  Soller,  in  occurring  in  11 74. 

the  Bollandists'  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  4°  After  the  death  of  Pope  Adrian  IV.,  in 

i.,  Julii  i.     De  Sancto  Rumoldo  Episcopo  et  1 159,   Alexander   III.   ruled  until   August 

Martyre  Mechlinise  in  Belgio.     Commenta-  30th,  A.D.  1 181,  when  he  died.    The  events 

rius  Pnevius,  sect,  ii.,  pp.  171  to  173.  Also,  of  his    pontificate  are  chronicled  by  Abbe 

sect,  xii.,  xiii.,  pp.  198  to  204.  Fleury,  in  his    "  Histoire   Ecclesiastique," 

37  He  is  venerated  as  a  saint  and  martyr,  liv.  lxx.,  lxxi.,  lxxii.,  lxxiii.,  pp.  66  to 
at  the  29th  of  December.     A  very  complete  437. 

account   of  him  maybe  found,  in    "Ma-  4I  The  following  epitaph  was  inscribed  on 

terials   for  the  History  of  Thomas  Becket,  their    tomb  :    "  Kichardus    Brito,    necnon 

Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Canonized  by  Norwilius  Hugo,  Gullelmus  Frachi,    Regi- 

Pope  Alexander  III.,  a.d.  1173).  Edited  by  naldus  filius  Ursi,  Thomam  martyrium  fecere 

James  Craigie  Robertson,   M.A.,  Canon  of  subire  beatum."— Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore 

Canterbury,  vols,  i.,  ii.,  iii.,  iv.,  v.  London,  Domynsio,  cap.  viii.,  pp.  45,  46. 

1875,  et  seq.,  8vo.  42  The  "  Chronicum  Mechliniense  "  places 

38  His  Life  in  Icelandic  with  an  English  this  event  at  A.D.  I3°3-. 
translation  has  been  published  under  the  fob  43  In  his  work,  lib.  iii.,  sect.  5. 

lowing   title  :   Thomas  Saga  Erkibyskups.  **  Probably  from   the  name   an   Anglo- 


24  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i. 


a  relic,  when  one  of  the  martyr's  ribs  was  presented  to  him.  This  he  fastened 
to  his  shield,  relying  on  the  protection  of  God  and  of  St.  Rumold.  The 
townsmen  offered  up  public  prayers  to  obtain  the  Divine  assistance  ;  and  they 
brought  our  saint's  shrine  in  solemn  procession,  through  their  city.  When 
they  came  towards  the  gates,  this  shrine  was  deposed  within  the  walls,  and 
their  whole  army  went  forth  to  fight  Their  enemies  were  then  conquered. 
As  a  token  of  gratitude  for  their  victory  thus  obtained,  and  at  his  own  cost, 
their  leader  had  St.  Rumold's  relics  covered  with  gold  and  silver.  The  other 
citizens  of  Mechlin  offered  such  treasures  in  token  of  public  gratitude,  that 
the  saint's  silver  shrine  was  replaced  by  a  golden  one.  They  made  a  vow, 
likewise,  that  on  each  returning  year,  St.  Rumold's  body  should  be  brought 
in  solemn  procession  through  their  city  with  lighted  tapers.  This  ceremony 
was  annually  performed,  on  the  recurrence  of  every  Easter  Tuesday.  But, 
their  miraculous  victory  appears  to  have  taken  place,  on  the  feast  of  Holy 
Thursday. 45  A  beautiful  silver  shrine  was  prepared  for  the  saint's  remains, 
and  on  April  3rd,  a.d.  1369,46  these  were  solemnly  placed  therein. 

In  the  year  1479,  on  tne  ^east  °f tne  Blessed  Virgin's  Annunciation,  while 
John  of  Burgundy,  brother  to  Phillip,  Duke  of  Brabant,  presided  over  the  See 
of  Cambray,  St.  Rumold's  relics  were  exhibited  to  the  people,  by  Godofrid,  a 
monk  of  the  Carmelite  Institute.  He  was  afterwards  elected  to  the  See  of  Cam- 
bray. In  the  shrine  was  found  a  wooden  case,  in  which  the  sacred  bones  of 
Rumold  lay,  being  wrapped  in  a  silk  covering,  inwoven  with  golden  threads. 
The  skull  was  also  to  be  seen,  marked  by  a  fracture.  A  number  of  physicians 
were  present,  who  examined  the  saint's  body.  This  was  found  to  be  entire, 
even  to  the  most  minute  joint.  Seven  Abbots  were  present,  at  this  exposi- 
tion. Their  names  were — Francis  Villariensis,  Livinus  Boulous,  Martin  of 
St.  Bernard,  John  of  St.  Michael,  Bartholomew  Aveibod,  Guernerus  of  Ton- 
gerloo,  Marcus  Grimberganus.  The  relics  were  publicly  exhibited  for  the 
whole  Octave,  morning  and  evening,  and  this  exposition  took  place  before  the 
Pascal  days.  The  old  garment  was  then  removed  from  our  saint's  body,  and 
a  new  one  of  a  green  colour  was  substituted.  In  this,  our  saint's  remains 
were  wrapped.  The  former  garment  continued  to  be  shown.  The  relics  of 
this  holy  martyr  were  reposed  within  a  shrine,  on  which  a  seal  and  a  suitable 
inscription  were  placed.*?  The  great  church  of  Mechlin  was  much  frequented 
by  pious  pilgrims,  who  came  to  pray  at  the  tomb  of  our  saint.  The  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  Paul  IV.,  who  ruled  from  a.d.  1555  to  1559,48  raised  Mechlin  to  the 
metropolitical  dignity.** 

That  beautiful  shrine,  which  had  been  prepared  for  St.  Rumold's  relics,  in 
1 369,5°  was  destroyed  two  centuries  later^1  during  the  troubles  that  agitated 
the  Low  Countries  in  1578.  Through  all  the  province  of  Mechlin,  the  Feast 
of  St.  Rumold  had  been  celebrated  as  a  Double  Festival,  with  an  Office  of 
Nine  Lessons.52      In  1631,   a  rich  and  a  new  silver  shrine  53  had  been  pre- 


Norman.  so  It  is  said,   this  had  been  prepared  at  an 

45  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  authore  Domyn-  expense  of  66,000  florins.  See  John  D'Alton's 
sio,  cap.  iii.,  pp.  42,  43.  "  Memoirs  of  the  Archbishops  of  Dublin," 

46  This  is   represented,  in   "Acta  S.  Ru-  p.  23. 

moldi  Episcopi    et    Martyris,   Apostoli    et  *  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des 

Patroni  Mechliniensium,"  by  John  Baptist  Saints,"  tome  vii.    Premiere  Jour  de  Juillet, 

Solier,  sect,  xv.,  p.  42.  p.  583. 

47  See  Vita S. Rumoldi,  cap.iv.,  pp.43,  44.  ^  See  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  i.,  "  Bishops  of 

48  See  Sir  Harris  Nicolas'  "Chronology  of  Dublin,"  p.  305. 

History,"  p.  211.  53  a  representation  of  this  fine  object  of 

49  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of  art  and  devotion  may  be  seen,  in  John  Bap- 
the  Fathers,  Martyrs,  and  other  principal  tist  Seller's  "  Acta  S.  Rumoldi  Episcopi  et 
Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  i.  Martyris,  Apostoli   et  Patroni  Mechlinien- 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  25 


pared  for  the  relics  of  St.  Rumold,  and  it  was  placed  over  the  high  altar  in 
the  cathedral.  Once  more,  during  the  French  Revolution,  and  when  Belgium 
had  been  invaded  by  the  Republican  army,  a.d.  1794,  the  valuable  shrine 
which  had  been  placed  in  the  cathedral  of  Malines,54  was  carried  off  to  the 
treasury  of  Bruxelles,  and  it  was  broken  up  to  satisfy  the  exactions  of  the 
invaders.55  At  this  period,  the  French  soldiers  were  badly  provided  for,  by 
the  administration  in  Paris,  and  the  assignats  or  paper  money,  in  which  they 
had  been  paid,  were  greatly  depreciated  in  value,  so  that  they  requisitioned 
eighty  millions  of  francs  from  Belgium  alone,  and  this  sum  was  levied  from 
the  clergy,  the  churches,  the  abbeys,  nobles  and  corporations.56  In  the  year 
1825,  there  was  a  great  semi-seculaire  jubilee  of  St.  Rumold  celebrated  at 
Malines,  when  the  diocese  voluntarily  contributed  funds  to  prepare  a  new 
silver  shrine,5?  which  is  to  be  seen  at  the  present  day,58  and  it  is  placed  over 
the  high  altar. 

In  order  that  our  saint's  festival  should  not  interfere  with  that  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist,5?  the  anniversary  of  St.  Rumold's  death  was  commemorated,  on  the 
istday  of  July.60  This  date  falls  on  the  Octave  of  St.  John's  feast.  The  Trans- 
lation ofSt.  Rumold's  Relics  is  kept,  moreover,  on  the  27th  of  October,  although 
it  took  place,  within  the  festival  of  St.  Luke,  the  Evangelist.61  However,  the 
chief  feast  of  St.  Rumold  has  been  set  down,  at  the  1st  of  July,  in  the  ancient 
Martyrology  of  the  Carthusians  at  Cologne,62  and  in  Hermann  Greven's  tran- 
script of  it,63  in  the  old^Cologne  Martyrology  known  as  Usuardus  Auctus,64  in 
John  Molanus,65  as  also,  in  the  ancient  Martyrology  written  in  German,66  and 
edited  by  Rev.  P.  Petrus  Canisius.  According  to  the  Martyrology  of  Done- 
gal,6? a  festival  was  celebrated  at  the  1st  of  July,  in  honour  of  Rumoldus, 
Bishop  of  Duibhlinn,  which  was  called  Ath-cliath.  He  is  likewise  called 
Rumoel,  in  a  table  appended  to  that  Martyrology.68  In  the  anonymous 
Calendar  of  Irish  Saints,  published  by  O'Sullevan  Beare,  the  name  Rumoldus 
occurs  at  this  date,  as  also  in  the  list  of  Henry  Fitzsimon,  Rumoldus,  Bishop 
and  Martyr,  is  found.60  Throughout  the  province  of  Dublin  before  the  Refor- 
mation, as  we  are  informed,  St.   Rumold's  was  a  Double  Festival,  with  an 


sium,"  sect,  xvii.,  p.  47.  Saints,"  tome  vii.,   ie  Jour  de  Juillet,    p. 

54  A.D.  1631.  583. 

55  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  Vies  des  s9  Held  on  the  24th  of  June. 

Saints,"  tome  vii.,   ie  Jour  de  Juillet,    p.  6o  This  transference  was  by  a  Decree  of 

583.  Pope  Alexander   IV.      See  Harris'  Ware, 

56  See  Thiers'   "  Histoire  de  la  Revolu-  vol.  i.,  Bishops  of  Dublin,  p.  305. 

tion    Francaise,"   tome   vii.,    chap,    xxvi.,  6t  See  Vita  S.  Rumoldi,  auctore  Domyn- 

p.  2.  sio,  cap.  v.,  p.  44. 

S70nit,  St.Rumold  is  represented  as  having  6*  Thus:  "  Sancti  Rumoldi  Episcopi  et 

a  crown  on  his  head,  assuming  him  to  be  son  Martyris,  filii  Regis  Hibernise,  et  Archiepis- 

of  a  Scottish  or  Irish  king  ;  as  raising  to  life  copi  Dubliniensis. 

the   young  son  of  the  Duke  of  Malines  ;  as  63  Noticed  thus  :  "  Mechlinise  S.  Rumoldi 

preaching  in   a  wood  ;  as  healing  a  blind  Episcopi  Hiberniensis  et  Martyris." 

man  ;  as  giving  up  the  episcopal  insignia  to  6*  Thus  :  "  In  Brabantia  S.  Rumoldi  Epis- 

become   a  monk;  as  healing  a  possessed  copi  Hibemiseet  Martyris,  qui  passusquidem 

person  ;  as  engaged  building  a  monastery  ;  et  8  Kal.  Julii ;  sed  ejus  celebritas  hie  festi- 

as  protecting  by  his  prayers  a  religieuse  cap-  vius  recolitur." 

hired  by  pirates  ;  as  striking  the  earth  with  65   Both  in   his     "  Indiculus    Sanctorum 

his  staff,  and  causing  a  fountain  of  water  to  Belgii,"     and     in     "  Natal es      Sanctorum 

spring  up;  as  being   struck  with  a   spade,  Belgii." 

pick,  axe  and  club  by  the  criminal  workmen  66  In   this,    St.    Rumold   is    regarded   as 

he  had  employed  ;    as  being  found  in  the  Bishop  of  Dublin,  and  of  royal  race, 

water,  owing  to  the  miraculous  light  shining  67  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

over  his  corpse;  and  as  standing   glorious  184,  185. 

and  treading  the  assassins  beneath  his  feet.  68  See  ibid.,  pp.  462,  463. 

58  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,   "  Vies  des  C9  The  latter  quotes  Johannes  Donnius— 


26  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i, 


Office  of  Nine  Lessons. 7°  By  a  decree  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites,  8th  of 
July,  1 741,  it  was  decided,  that  the  office  of  St.  Rumold  should  be  celebrated 
as  a  Duplex  Majus,  on  the  1st  of  July,  with  Nine  Lessons.7l 

Heroically  many  martyrs  of  God  were  linked  together  in  a  common  Faith, 
a  common  danger,  and  a  common  suffering.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  the 
struggle  between  the  natural  and  supernatural  element  must  have  been  a 
terrible  one,  even  when  Christian  fortitude  and  Faith  sustained  them  in  the 
victory  of  martyrdom.  The  present  holy  man  was  destined  to  pass  through 
that  ordeal,  because  he  felt  it  to  be  a  great  pastoral  duty  to  reprove  vice,  and 
to  promote  virtue.  Envy  and  avarice,  both  base  and  odious  crimes,  prompted 
to  revenge  and  murder ;  but,  a  holy  life  had  been  well  spent,  when  the 
martyr's  crown  became  the  reward  of  this  glorious  and  apostolic  prelate,  in  a 
country,  where  he  had  zealously  laboured. 


Article  II.— St.  Servan,  Serb,  Serf,  or  Seran,  Apostolic  Mis- 
sionary in  Scotland.  [Fifth  or  Sixth  Century.']  One  of  the  most  cele- 
brated saints,  connected  with  the  early  missions  of  Scotland,  was  the  holy 
man,  who  is  called  Serb,  by  Irish  writers,  and  about  whom  so  many 
inconsistent  accounts  have  received  circulation.  According  to  one  account, 
his  original  name  was  Malachias,  which  at  the  time  of  his  baptism  was 
changed  into  Servanus.  Serf  is  another  form  of  this  name.  He  is  also  called 
Servan,1  or  Seran.  In  some  parts  of  Scotland,  the  people  have  corrupted  his 
name  to  Sair  or  Sare.2  The  Festival  of  St.  Servanus  or  St.  Serf  3  has  been 
assigned  to  the  20th  day  of  April,  where  we  have  already  given  the  legendary 
Acts  and  the  conjectures  of  several  writers  regarding  him,  as  also  the  specu- 
lations referring  to  his  period  and  locality.*  Again,  there  is  a  notice  of  him, 
at  the  13th  of  May.5  It  must  be  unnecessary  to  repeat  what  has  been  already 
stated,  but  as  this  holy  man  has  another  festival  assigned  at  the  1st  of  July, 
we  can  only  briefly  subjoin  what  serves  to  amplify,  yet  hardly  illustrate,  his 
proceedings.  On  this  day,  the  Bollandists  have  several  unsatisfactory  notices 
regarding  him,6  in  a  previous  commentary  7  to  his  Life,  as  found  in  the  Breviary 
of  Aberdeen.  The  early  history  of  St.  Servan  seems  to  be  involved  in  con- 
siderable obscurity.  Already  has  allusion  been  made  to  the  Manuscript 
Life  of  St.  Servanus,8  as  found  in  the  so-called  Codex  Kilkenniensis,?  and  to 
which  Archbishop  Ussher  refers,  where  he  styles  it  a  compound  of  foolish 
portents  and  of  lying  fables.10  Indeed,  for  all  historical  purposes,  it  is  not 
only  utterly  worthless,  but  it  is  flagrantly  in  opposition  to  well-established 
facts  of  church  history."  The  Aberdeen  Breviary  seems  to  contain  the  prinii- 

probably  Joannes  Domyns   is  meant.     See  *  See  at  that  date,  in  the  Fourth  Volume 

O'Sullevan  Beare's     "  Historic  Catholicse  of  this  work,  Art.  iv. 

Ibernia?  Compendium,"   tomus   i.,  lib.  iv.,  s  See  the  Fifth  Volume  of  this  work,  at 

cap.  xi.,  xii.,  pp.  50,  56.  that  date,  Art.  vi. 

See  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  i.,  "  Bishops  of  6  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii  i. 

Dublin,"  J).  305.  De  S.  Servano  Epis.  et  Conf.  Orcadum  In- 

f  See  De  Burgo's  "  Officia  Propria  Sane-  sularum  Apostolo,  pp.  55  to  58. 

torum    Hibernise,"    Die   prima  Julii.      In  7  in  thirteen  paragraphs,  written  by  Father 

Festo  S.  Rumoldi,  pp  63  to  68.  John  Baptist  Soller. 

Article  ii.—  '  This  is  usually  written  8  In  the  Fourth  Volume  of  this  work,  at 

Servanus,  by  the  Latin  compilers  of  accounts,  the  20th  of  April,  Art.  iv. 

relating  to  him.  9  in  Archbishop  Marsh's  Library,  Dublin, 

a   See  Bishop    Forbes'    "  Kalendars    of  and  classed  vol.  3,  4,  16. 

Scottish  Saints,"  p.  447.  «o  gee  <<  Britannicarum  Ecclesiarum  Anti- 

3  See  an  account  of  him  in  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  quitates,"  cap.  xv.,  p.  353. 

S.  Gordon's  "  Scotichronicon,"  pp.  42,  43.  "  The  reader  may  find  the  full  version  of 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  27 


tive  legends,  regarding  the  origin  and  career  of  this  holy  Bishop  and  Con- 
fessor,13 who  is  said  to  have  drawn  his  descent  from  the  nation  of  the  Scots — 
a  matter  which  is  altogether  likely,  although  a  different  parentage  has  been 
assigned  to  him.  It  has  been  stated,  also,  that  he  was  a  Pict  on  the  mother's 
side ;  her  name  being  Alma,  a  daughter  to  the  King  of  the  Cruithne.  Again, 
other  accounts  have  it  that  his  father  was  Pore,  King  of  Canaan,  in  Egypt. 
If  we  are  to  trust  the  Martyrology  of  Aberdeen,13  he  was  of  royal  origin  ;  his 
father  being  Obeth,14  while  his  mother  is  said  to  have  been  Alixa/s  the 
daughter  of  a  King  in  Arabia.16  Servan  himself  is  said  to  have  been  King  of  the 
Cananii,1?  but  leaving  his  kindred  through  a  supernatural  motive,  he  resolved 
to  seek  more  distant  countries.  With  an  illustrious  company  of  holy  men,  he 
travelled  far  away  from  the  territory  of  the  Cananii  to  Jerusalem,  thence  to 
Rome,  thence  to  France,  and  finally  he  arrived  in  Scotland.18  Were  we  to 
credit  Thomas  Dempster's  account,  he  flourished  in  the  year  293,  having 
been  elected  bishop  from  the  flock  of  the  Culdees;1^  but,  most  assuredly,  he 
did  not  live  at  this  early  period,  for  heathenism  then  wholly  prevailed  over 
Scotland.  St.  Servan  has  been  classed  among  the  disciples  of  St.  Patrick.20 
However,  we  cannot  find  him  enrolled  as  such,  in  the  list  furnished  by 
Colgan.21  We  are  told,22  that  he  lived  under  the  rite  and  form  of  the  primitive 
church,  until  the  arrival  of  Palladius.23  St.  Servan  sailed  for  Scotland,  to 
preach  the  faith  among  the  people.  There,  he  is  said  to  have  erected  a 
monastery,  on  the  winding  shores  of  the  Forth.2*  According  to  some  accounts, 
St.  Servan  founded  a  monastery,  near  the  town  of  Culenros,  the  modern  Cul- 
ross,  in  Fifeshire  ;  while  others  have  it,  that  before  Palladius  visited  Scotland, 
there  had  been  a  religious  school  established  at  that  place,  in  which  the  pre- 
sent holy  man  received  his  education. 25  He  took  care  to  chastise  his  body 
and  bring  it  under  subjection,  while  he  lived  there  in  solitude.  The  fame  of 
some  miracles  he  had  wrought  created  for  him  a  great  veneration  in  the  minds 
of  the  multitude.36  There,  too,  he  lived,  with  a  religious  society  of  disciples.2? 
One  of  the   most  renowned  among  these  was  St.    Kentigern,28  who  was 


this  Life  of  St.   Servanus,  in   William  F.  so   See  Right  Rev.   Patrick   F.   Moran's 

Skene's  "  Chroncles  of  the  Picts,  Chronicles  "Irish  Saints  in  Great  Britain,"  chap,  v., 

of  the   Scots,  and  other  early  Memorials  of  p.  155. 

Scottish  History,"   Appendix,  sect,  vi.,  pp.  2I  See  "  Trias  Thaumaturga, "  Quinta  Ap- 

412  to  420.  pendix  ad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiii.,  pp. 

12  See  Right   Rev.   Patrick   F.    Moran's  265  to  269. 

"  Irish  Saints  in  Great  Britain,"  chap,  v.,  22  In  the  Aberdeen  Breviary. 

pp.  155,  156.  23  See  his  Life,  in  the  present  Volume,  at 

13  At  the  Kalends  of  July  we  find  the  fore-  the  6th  of  July,  Art.  i. 

going    notice,   as    contained    in   the    text.  24  See  Right   Rev.   Patrick  F.    Moran's 

See  "  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiqua-  "Irish  Saints  in  Great  Britain,"  chap,  v., 

ries  of  Scotland,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  265,  266.  p.  155* 

l*   The   son  of   Eliud,  according  to  the  2S  Such  is  the  account,  as  given  by  Came- 

Dublin  MS.  Life.  rarius,  who  tells  us  furthermore,  that  Saints 

15  Called  "Alpia  filia  regis  Arabie,"  in  Kentigern  and  Ternan  taught  humanities  and 
the  Dublin  MS.  Life.  sacred  lessons,  in  that  place. 

16  It  is  said,  they  were  without  children  for  a6  The  Martyrology  of  Aberdeen  says, 
twenty  years,  before  the  miraculous  birth  of  "  preclara  sua  miracula  posterum  stupenda 
their  twin  sons  Malachias,  otherwise  called  merito  Seruanum  summe  extollendum  laudi- 
Servanus,  and  Generatius.  bus  efferunt  et  sine  fine  in  celesiibus  regna- 

x*  Otherwise  called  Cananeans.  turum  insinuant." 

18  See  the  particulars  of  these  migrations  2?  See  Rev.  Thomas  Innes'  "Civil  and 
set  forth,  in  the  Fourth  Volume  of  this  work,  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,"  book  ii., 
at  the  20th  of  April,  Art.  iv.  sect,  vii.,  p.  125. 

19  See  "  Historia  Ecclesiastica  Gentis  Sco-  28  He  has  a  double  festival :  one  for  the 
torum,"  tomus  ii.,  lib.  xvii.,  num.  1032,  13th  of  January,  andthe  other  for  the  13th 
p.  574.  01  November. 


28  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  fJui.Y  i, 


educated  under  his  care.  He  and  his  mother  Thenoga9  were  baptized  by 
this  holy  man ;  the  former  having  been  born,  after  the  latter  had  been  cast 
ashore  in  a  boat,  at  Culenros,3°  and  on  the  coast  of  Fife.  When  St.  Kentigern 
resolved  on  leaving  Culross,  St.  Servan  who  tenderly  loved  him  showed  the 
greatest  sensibility  of  soul.  He  cried  out :  "  Alas !  my  dearest  son  !  light  of 
mine  eyes  !  staff  of  my  old  age!  wherefore  dost  thou  desert  me?  Call  to 
mind  the  days  that  are  past,  and  remember  the  years  that  are  gone  by ;  how 
I  took  thee  up  when  thou  earnest  forth  from  thy  mother's  womb,  nourished 
thee,  taught  thee,  trained  thee,  even  unto  this  hour.  Do  not  despise  me,  nor 
neglect  my  grey  hairs,  but  return,  that  in  no  long  time  thou  mayest  close 
mine  eyes."*1  And  when  St.  Kentigern  nevertheless  continued  his  course, 
Servan  again  cried  aloud,  asking  to  be  permitted  to  accompany  him,  and  to 
be  reckoned  among  his  disciples;  but  Kentigern  replied  :  "  I  go  whither  God 
calls  me,  but  do  thou  return,  I  pray  thee,  my  father,  to  thine  own  disciples, 
that  in  thy  holy  presence  they  may  be  trained  in  sacred  doctrine,  guided  by 
thy  example,  and  restrained  by  thy  discipline.32  When  Pope  St.  Celestine  1.33 
had  destined  Palladius  34  for  the  conversion  of  the  Irish-Scots, 35 — then  having 
some  knowledge  of  the  Christian  religion — his  mission  there  failed.  His  course 
was  afterwards  directed  to  Scotland.  Among  his  disciples  was  St.  Servan. 
But  whether  the  latter  accompanied  him  from  Rome,  or  whether  he  had  been 
a  native  of  Ireland  or  of  Scotland,  appears  to  be  uncertain.  Equally  so  is  the 
conjecture,  that  he  had  been  found  in  either  of  these  Islands,  and  that  he  had 
been  instructed  in  the  Faith  by  Palladius.  However  this  may  be,  both  were 
associated  in  the  work  of  preaching  and  of  administering  the  sacraments 
among  the  people  of  Scotland.  As  he  was  gifted  with  singular  goodness  and 
humility,  St.  Palladius  consecrated  St.  Servan  a  bishop,  according  to  received 
accounts. 3<5  The  latter  became  a  coadjutor  to  his  apostolic  master^  while 
spreading  the  light  of  the  Gospel  in  those  northern  parts  he  had  chosen  for 
the  exercise  of  his  zeal.  Another  account  has  it,  that  when  St.  Palladius  failed 
in  preaching  the  Gospel  among  the  Orkneyans,  St.  Servan  became  eminently 
successful  in  that  effort. 38  While  St.  Palladius  destined  St.  Tervan  to  become 
Archbishop  of  the  Picts,  he  directed  St.  Servan  to  become  the  great  missionary 
and  Apostle  of  the  Orkneys. 39  Again,  it  has  been  supposed,  by  some  writers, 
that  St.  Tervan  had  been  the  first  missionary  sent  to  those  Islands,  while  St. 
Servan  succeeded  him  in  that  post/0  As  T  and  S  are  frequently  commu table 
in  the  Celtic  dialects,  it  may  be  a  subject  for  fair  investigation,  to  discover  if 
Tervan  and  Servan  be  not  one  and  the  same  person ;  while,  if  such  be  the 
case,  we  have  another  disturbing  historic  element  introduced  into  the  present 


■»  Her  feast  is  kept  on  the  1 8th  of  July.  3<s  Such  is    the    statement    of   Polydore 

3°  See  "  Lives  of  St.  Ninian  and  St.  Ken-  Virgil. 

tigern,"    compiled  in  the  twelfth  century.  3?  See  Fordun's  "  Scotichronicon,  lib.  iii. 

Edited  from  the  best  MSS.  by  Alexander  cap.ix. 

Penrose  Forbes,  D.C.L.,  Bishop  of  Brechin,  38  See  Ussher's  "De  Primordiis  Britanni- 

Life   of  St.   Kentigern,   chap,    iv.,    p.    40.  carum  Ecclesiarum,"  p.  671. 

Edinburgh,  1874,  8  vo.  39  See  Lesley,   "  De  Origine,  Moribus,  et 

31  Vita  S.  Kentigerni,  cap.  viii.  Rebus  Gestis  Scotorum,"  lib.  iv.,  Rex  xli., 

31  See   Right    Rev.   Patrick   F.  Moran's  p.  137. 

"Irish  Saints  in  Great  Britain,"  chap,   v.,  4Q  To  these  statements  has  been  added  the 

PP-  x55'  l$6-  report,  that  both  had  a  charge  to  extirpate 

33  About  the  year  431.  the  Pelagian  heresy  among  the  people  of 

34  See  his  Acts  in  the  present  volume,  at  those  northern  parts.     The  contradiction  is 
July  6th,  Art.  i.  obvious,  if  we  only  suppose,  that  those  people 

35  According    to    the    Chronicle   of   St.  had  yet  to  receive  Christianity  through  the 
Prosper  of  Aquetaine.  ministry  of  Saints  Tervan  and  Servan, 


July  i.] 


LI  VES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


29 


perplexing  memoir.  However,  this  may  be,  we  are  inclined  to  believe,  that 
the  success  of  St.  Servan's  missionary  career  among  the  Orkneyans — if  con- 
siderable in  his  time— could  not  have  been  of  a  very  permanent  character. 
St.  Servan  was  sent  into  the  Orkney  Islands  by  St.  Palladius,  and  his  mis- 
sionary career  was  so  successful  there,  that  he  has  since  been  regarded  as  the 
Apostle  of  that  group.  Some  writers  state,  that  St.  Palladius  and  St.  Sylves- 
ter 4I  shared  that  Apostleship  with  him.  At  this  period,  the  people  of  Orkney 
were  in  a  rude  state  ;42  yet,  we  have  few  accounts  left  us  by  writers,  to  throw 
much  light  on  their  pagan  condition. *3  Picts  or  Britons  appear  to  have  been 
the  earliest  inhabitants. 44  The  Fir-galeoin  4S — a  tribe  of  the  Firbolgs — are 
said  also  to  have  inhabited  them.  In  the  time  of  St.  Columkille,*6  they  seem 
to  have  relapsed  into  paganism  ;  if  indeed,  Christianity  had  previously  made 
any  progress  among  them.  Towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  some  of 
St.  Columba's  disciples47  appear  to  have  gained  a  foothold  there  ;  and  Irish 
Papae  or  Fathers  were  found  in  those  Islands,  when  they  had  been  invaded 
by  the  Norwegians  in  the  ninth  century.48  Gradually  a  great  number  of 
churches  and  monasteries  were  established  in  those  Islands,  after  the  Norwe- 
gian colonists  had  conformed  to  Christianity.  Under  the  Jarls,  Kirkwall 
grew  up  to  be  the  chief  seat  of  power,  and  there  too  was  established  the  epis- 
copal See  of  the  Orkneys.  After  the  remains  of  St.  Magnus  49  the  Martyr 
had  been  removed  to  Christ  Church,  Bersa,s°  his  nephew  Ronald  resolved  on 


41  He  is  said  to  have  had  a  feast  on  the 
5th  of  February,  in  the  Orkney  Islands. 

42  See  Bellenden's  Hector  Boece's  "  Scoto- 
rum  Historian,  "tomus  i.,  lib.  vii.,  cap.  1 8,  p.  286. 

43  For  a  fuller  account,  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  the  Second  Volume  of  this  work, 
at  the  14th  of  February,  Art.  iii. 

44  See  Chalmers'  "Caledonia,"  vol.  i., 
book  ii.,  chap.  iv. 

45  See  "The  Irish  Version  of  Nennius." 
Note  of  Rev.  Dr.  Todd,  p.  146. 

46  See  his  Life,  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this 
work,  at  the  9ih  of  June,  Art.  i. 

4?  Among  these,  St.  Cormac  Ua  Liathan 
appears  to  have  been  distinguished,  as  ap- 
pears from  his  Life,  at  the  21st  of  June.  See 
ibid.,  Art  i. 

48  See  Rev.  George  Barry's  "History  of 
the  Orkney  Islands,''  &c,  p.  115. 

49  See  his  Life,  in  the  Fourth  Volume  of 
this  work,  at  April  16th,  Art.  ii. 

5°  See  Robert  William  Billing's  "  Baronial 
and  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Scotland, " 
vol.  iii.,  p.  2. 

5'  The  See  of  the  Church  Bay  (Kirk  Vaag) 
in  the  Orkneys  was  founded  a.d.  i  102,  and 
the  fine  cathedral— of  which  there  is  a 
ground  plan — was  begun  A.D.  1 138.  See 
Rev.  Mackenzie  E.  C.  Walcott's  "  Scoti 
Monasticon,"  p.  173. 

52  The  accompanying  illustration  was 
drawn  on  the  wood  by  William  F.  Wake- 
man,  from  an  approved  drawing  ;  and  it 
has  been  engraved  on  the  wood  by  Mrs. 
Millard. 

53  In  the  year  1468,  the  Orkneys  were 
transferred  from  the  kingdom  of  Denmark 
and  annexed  to  the  Scottish  crown.    See  an 


account  of  this  transaction,  in  John  Pinker- 
ton's  "  History  of  Scotland  from  the  Acces- 
sion of  the  house  of  Stuart  to  that  of  Mary," 
with  Appendices  of  Original  Papers,  vol.  i. , 
book  vii.,  pp.  262  to  266. 

54  See  a  further  account  of  this  most  in- 
teresting structure,  in  Rev.  Mackenzie  E.  C. 
Walcott's  "  Scoti  Monasticon,"  pp.  173 
to  178. 

55  According  to  the  Martyrology  of  Aber- 
deen. 

56  See  an  account  of  him,  in  Bishop 
Forbes'  "Kalendars  of  Scottish  Saints,"  pp. 
445  to  447. 

57  According  to  the  Bollandists'  "Acta 
Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii  i. 

58  See  Bishop  Forbes'  "Kalendars  of 
Scottish  Saints,"  p.  42. 

59  Thus :  "  Sancti  Servani  Episcopi, 
xii.,  1.,  ii.  m." '—Ibid.,  p.  59. 

60  Thus  :  "  Servani  Episcopi,  Conf.  ix.,  1." 
—Ibid.,  p.  118. 

61  See  ibid.,  p.  132. 

62  Thus  :  "S.  Serffe  bischop  of  Orknay  and 
confesor  vnder  King  Eugenius  2." — Ibid., 
p.  156. 

63  Thus:  "In  Insulis  Serfi  primi  illius 
populi  Apostoli." — Ibid.,  p.  204. 

<>4  See  "Old  Statistical  Account  of  Scot- 
land," vol.  x.,  p.  131,  and  vol.  xviii.,  Ap- 
pendix, p.  649. 

63  See  "  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scot- 
land," Perth,  p.  600. 

66  See  "  Lives  of  S.  Ninian  and  S.  Ken- 
tigern,"  compiled  in  the  Twelfth  Century. 
Edited  from  the  best  MSS.,  by  Alexander 
Penrose  Forbes,  D.C.L.,  Bishop  of  Brechin. 
Notes  P,  pp.  324  to  326. 


3° 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  i. 


the  erection  of  a  magnificent  cathedral  at  Kirkwall  in  the  twelfth  century,51 
When  completed,  he  had  the  remains  of  St.  Magnus  removed  thither,  and 
afterwards  this  holy  martyr  gave  name  to  that  church,  of  which  he  was  regarded 

as  the  patron.  The  interior 
presents  much  of  the  original 
plan  and  style,  in  the  massive 
columns  and  rounded  arches 
within  the  nave  and  aisles.53 
The  five  eastern  bays  of  the 
nave  were  built  with  pillars, 
fifteen  feet  in  circumference, 
by  Bishop  William  I.  in  1160; 
while,  owing  to  the  disturbed 
state  of  affairs  in  the  Orkneys, 
the  cathedral  remained  un- 
finished." The  remaining  bays, 
with  the  western  front  and 
three  western  bays  in  the  same 
style,  were  built  by  Bishop 
Reid  in  1540.54  St.  Servan 
lived  to  a  venerable  old  age. 
He  departed  this  life  at  Cul- 
ross.  There  his  relics  were 
afterwards  preserved.55  Be- 
sides the  commemorations  of 
this  holy  man  already  entered 
at  the  20th  of  April,  and  at 
13th  of  May,  there  is  a  festival 
set  down,  at  the  1st  of  July,56 
which  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  date  for  his  death.  In  his 
Universal  Martyrology,  Castellan  has  the  feast  of  Servanus,  a  Scot,  at  the 
latter  date,  but  the  place  assigned  for  him  is  Wales. 5?  Otherwise,  we  know 
not  of  any  recorded  connexion  the  present  St.  Servan  had  with  the  latter 
principality.  In  the  Kalendar  of  Hyrdmainstown,  at  the  1st  of  July,  there  is 
an  entry  of  Servanus  Episcopus,  with  a  notice  that  he  had  an  Office  of  Nine 
Lessons;58  also,  in  the  Kalendar  of  Culenros  ;59  likewise,  in  the  Kalendar, 
attached  to  the  Breviary  of  Aberdeen;60  also,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Aber- 
deen ;61  in  Adam  King's  Kalendar;62  and,  in  Thomas  Dempster's  Menolo- 
gium  Scoticum.63  Until  a  late  period,  an  annual  procession  attended  with 
public  festivity  was  held  in  his  honour,  on  the  first  of  each  recurring  July. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  that  day,  all  the  inhabitants,  young  and  old,  men 
women  and  children  assembled,  and  carried  green  branches  through  the  town. 
They  also  decked  the  public  places  with  flowers,  and  spent  the  rest  of  the  day 
in  recreation  and  public  rejoicing.6*  In  1839,  this  custom  had  not  altogether 
disappeared,65  but  the  day  had  been  altered  to  the  24th  of  June — the  birth- 
day of  King  George  III. — in  consequence  of  the  neighbouring  lairds  and 


Cathedral  Church  of  St.  Mngnus,  Kirkwall, 
Orkney  Island,  Interior  View. 


Article  hi.—  1  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

a  It  is  in  the  parish  of  St.  Peter's,  barony 
of  Athlone,  and  it  is  shown  on  the  '"Ord- 
nance Survey  Townland  Maps  for  the 
County  of  Roscommon,"  sheets  52,  55. 


3  See  John  O'Donovan's  "Tribes  and 
Customs  of  Hy-Many,"  n.  (j),  pp.  79,  80. 

*  Allusion  is  also  made  to  this  place,  in  a 
note  to  Colgan's  M  Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber- 
niae,"  xv.  Februarii.  Vita  S.  Farannani,  n. 
28,  p.  339- 


J  uly  i .]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  3 1 


magistrates  being  strong  Hanoverians,66  and  their  desiring  to  wean  the 
affections  and  celebration  of  the  people  from  an  old  Scottish  saint  to  the 
regal  representative  of  the  Guelph  family. 


Article   III. — St.  Ailill  of  Cloonown,  County  of   Roscommon, 

THOUGHT    TO    HAVE    BEEN    SECOND    ARCHBISHOP    OF   ARMAGH,   COUNTY    OF 

Armagh.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  at  the  1st  of  July,  we  find  the 
entry  Ailella,  Bishop  of  Cluana  Emain.  The  name  Cluana  Kmain — where 
seven  bishops  were  venerated — has  been  identified  with  Cloonowen,  or 
Cloonown,2  an  old  church  situated  on  the  River  Shannon,  and  not  far 
removed  from  Athlone.  It  lies  to  the  south-east  of  this  town, 3  and  it  is  within 
the  county  of  Roscommon.4  There  seems  to  have  been  an  error  admitted, 
in  deeming  him  to  have  been  an  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  the  second  of  this 
same  name.  However,  the  Martyrology  of  Tamhlacht  calls  him  bishopof  Cluain 
Emain,  but  without  any  mention  of  Armagh,  as  elsewhere  found.  Marianus 
O'Gorman  simply  names  him;  but,  the  gloss  adds,  Epscop  Arda  Macha.  He  is 
not  mentioned  in  the  Feilire  of  /Engus,  nor  in  the  Dublin  copy  of  the  Scholia. 
The  present  saint  is  said  to  have  succeeded  his  namesake  Ailill  or  Ailild  I., 
in  the  See  of  Armagh.s  He  died  in  the  year  526,  on  the  13th  day  of  January, 
and  this  holy  man,  the  second  of  his  name  in  that  primatical  See,  is  thought 
to  have  been  elected,  soon  after  the  chair  had  been  vacated.  Ailill  II.  sprung 
from  the  same  family  as  his  namesake  and  predecessor.6  While  the  Bollan- 
dists  7  enter  the  name  of  Alellus  or  Alildus  II.,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  at  this 
date,  on  the  authority  of  Colgan  ;  they  declare,  likewise,  that  they  know  not 
from  what  authority  he  has  been  entered  on  the  Catalogue  of  Saints,  and  they 
defer  to  a  supplement,  at  the  13th  day  of  January,  any  further  notices  regard- 
ing him.  We  read,  that  Ailill  II.  ruled  for  ten  years  over  the  Irish  Church, 
and  he  died  on  the  1st  of  July,8  according  to  Marianus  O'Gorman,  and  other 
Martyrologists,  a.d.  535,  but  according  to  other  chronologists,  in  the  year 
536.9  At  this  same  date,  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal IO  records  him  as 
Ailill,  Bishop,  of  Ard  Macha.  Some  words  within  brackets  are  added  in  a 
more  recent  hand,  [i.e.  Elias,  according  to  the  corresponding  synonyme,  at 
Rathbuanae."]  Where  this  place  was  situated,  we  have  no  means  for  deter- 
mining. 


Article  IV. — St.  Cuimmein,  Bishop  of  Nendrum,  or  Mahee  Island, 
County  of  Down.  [Seventh  Century ■.]  On  the  1st  of  July,  in  the  Martyr- 
ologies  of  Tallagh,1  of  Marianus  O'Gorman  and  of  Charles  Maguire,2  it  is  men- 
tioned, that  veneration  was  given  to  Cuimmein,  Bishop  of  Aendruim.  This 
place  is  now  known  as  Mahee  Island,  inStrangford  Lough,  and  in  the  county 


s  A  considerable  nmount  of  ecclesiastical  '  See  Harris' Ware,  vol.  i.,  "Archbishops 

information  regarding  this  Archdiocese  may  of  Armagh,"  p.  39. 

be  found,  in  Sir  Charles  Coote's  "  Statistical  I0  Edited  by  Drs.   Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

Survey  of  the  County  of  Armagh,"  part  i.,  184,  185. 

chap,  i.,  sect.  4,  pp.  9  to  21,  and  Appendix,  "  They  signify,    that   Elias  is   the  usual 

No.  xxi.,  pp.  28  to  33.  Latinized  form  of  the  Celtic    name  Ailill, 

6  See  James  Stuart's  "Historical  Memoirs  and  that  this  Ailill  died  or  was  honoured  as 
of  the  City  of  Armagh,"  chap,  i.,  p.  92.  a  saint,  at  Rathbuanae. 

7  See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    i.,  Article   iv. — x    Edited   by    Rev.    Dr. 
Julii   i.       Among  the   pretermitted   feasts,  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

p.  2.  2  See  Colgan's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber- 

8  See  Ussher's  "  Britannicavum  Ecclesia-  niae,"  xii.  Januarii.     De  S.  Cumiano  Epis- 


rum  Antiquitates,"  Index  Chronologicus.  copo,  n.  6,  p.  59. 


32  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July 


of  Down. 3  The  Bollandists,4  who  have  a  notice  of  this  holy  man,  at  the  ist 
of  July,  refer  to  Hugh  Ward's  work  s  for  the  entry;  but,  they  defer  to  treat 
about  his  veneration  and  Acts,  until  they  had  more  certain  evidences.  It  has 
been  stated,  in  Rev.  Dr.  O'Conor's  text  of  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters, 
that  he  died  a.d.  658  ;6  but,  this  is  faulty,  for  according  to  Tighernach,  he 
departed  a.d.  659.7  He  is  said  to  have  rested — about  the  year  661  — by  Duald 
Mac  Firbis,8  in  his  text,  De  Quibusdam  Episcopis.9  This  tract  was  found 
among  the  Bodleian  Manuscripts,  at  Oxford.10  This  holy  Bishop's  name  is 
entered,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,11  at  the  present  date. 


Article  V. — St.  Cathbadh  or  Cathbath.  We  find  in  the  Martyr- 
ology of  Tallagh,1  Cathbadh's  name,  at  the  istof  July.  It  is  to  be  regretted, 
that  ecclesiastical  and  religious  persons,  whose  opportunities  or  position 
enabled  them  to  record  passing  events,  wanted  either  the  taste  or  inclination, 
to  preserve  reminiscences  and  edifying  accounts  of  those,  with  whom  they 
had  been  intimately  associated.  Owing  to  such  omissions,  no  doubt,  posterity 
has  lost  a  knowledge  of  this  holy  man's  place  and  age,  as  in  many  similar 
cases.  There  is  a  notice  of  St.  Cathladius,2  in  Jocelyn's  Life  of  St.  Patrick. 3 
He  is  said  to  have  been  a  pilgrim  and  of  British  race.  He  was  the  third 
Bishop  of  Ath-Truim  or  Trim,  in  succession  to  St.  Loman  or  Luman,* 
appointed  by  St.  Patrick  himself,  and  to  St.  Fortchern.s  Now,  Colgan  thinks, 
that  Cathladius  was  probably  the  same  person  as  Cathfadius,  whose  Natalis 
has  been  placed  in  the  Irish  Martyrologies,  at  the  ist  of  July,  or  at  the  16th 
of  September.  The  Bollandists,6  who  record  Cathfadius  at  the  ist  of  July,' 
do  not  forget  to  state,  that  Sirinus  has  suggested  Cathbadius  for  Cathfadius. 
At  this  date,  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal8  has  only  the  simple  record 
Cathbath. 


Article  VI. — St.  Lugid  or  Lughaidh,  Son  of  Lugeus  or  Lughaidh. 
As  these,  who  ascend  the  heights  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  avoid  the  con- 
tagious diseases  and  oppressive  atmosphere  of  the  plains  below ;  so  do  the 

saints  escape,  by  their  ascent  towards  exalted  perfection,  the  noisome  moral 

3  See  what  has  been  already  stated,  at  the  I0  Classed  Rawlinson,  No.  480.  See 
31st  January,  the  festival  of  St.  Mochumma  "  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy," 
or  Documma,  Bishop  of  InisMahee  ;  as  also,  vol.  ix.,   1856,  p.  184. 

at  the  23rd  of  June,  the  feast  of  St.  Mochaoi  ,x  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

or  Mochay,  Abbot  and  Patron  of  Nendrum.  184,  185. 

4  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Article  v. —  •  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Julii  i.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  4.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

s  See  "Sancti  Rumoldi  Martyris  Inclyii,  2  Under  this  form,  his  name  is  not  found 

Archiepiscopi  Dubliniensis,  Mechliniensium  in  our  Irish  Martyrologies. 

Apostoli,"  Dissertatio  Historica,  &c,  sect.  3  See    Colgan's   "Trias   Thaumalurga," 

9,  num.  9,  p.  159.  Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  lii.,  p.  76,  and  n. 

6  See  "  Rerum  Hibernicarum  Scriptores,"  59,  pp.  no,  in. 

tomus  iii.,  p.  215.  *  See  an  account  of  him,  at  the   17th  of 

7  See  Rev.  William  Reeves'  "  Ecclesias-  February,  in  the  Second  Volume  of  this 
tical  Antiquities  of  Down,  Connor  and  Dro-  work,  Art.  iii. 

more,"  Appendix  A,  p.  149.  Also,  Appendix  s  See  ibid.,  Art.  iv. 

LL,  p.  379.  b  See     "Acta     Sanctorum,"    tomus    i., 

8  See  "  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  Julii  i.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  5. 
Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i.,  7  They  add,  that  should  further  lights  be 
part  i.,  nn.  20,  21,  p.  85.  vouchsafed,    on  the   matter  of  identity,   it 

'  Translated    into    English,    by    D.    H.  might  be  possible  to  say  more,  at  the  1 6th 

Kelly,  M.R.I.A.,  and  annotated  by  W.  M.  of  September. 

Hennessy,  M.R.I. A.  8  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 


July  i.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  33 


contagion  of  the  worlding's  low  position.  The  Martyrology  of  Tallagh  x 
enters  the  name  of  Lugidius,  son  of  Lugeus,  as  having  veneration  paid  him, 
at  the  1st  of  July.  Thus  was  he  distinguished,  at  an  early  period  of  our 
ecclesiastical  history,  among  his  contemporaries.  Marianus  O'Gorman  has  a 
similar  notice  in  his  Martyrology,  at  this  day.  Cathal  Maguire  agrees  in  the 
paternity,  and  he  adds,  that  the  present  holy  man  was  Bishop  of  Cluain- 
camaint.  It  is  now  difficult  to  identify  this  ancient  place.  The  Bollandists,2 
who  notice  Lugidius  films  Lugei  at  the  1st  of  July,  state,  that  Cluain-camaint 
was  unknown  to  them,  but  they  suggest,  that  a  Cluaid-camhain  is  mentioned 
in  the  Annals  of  Donegal,  at  the  year  1089.  Where  they  obtained  such  infor- 
mation is  not  apparent  to  us. 3  Lughaidh,  son  of  Lughaidh,  is  the  entry  of 
the  O'Clerys,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal/  at  this  date. 


Article  VII. —  St.  UltaN.  Veneration  was  given  at  the  1st  of  July  to 
Ultan,  as  we  read  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh.1  In  this  Calendar,  there 
is  a  double  entry  of  the  name ;  but,  it  is  hardly  probable,  two  saints,  thus  deno- 
minated, were  intended.  This  duplication,  in  all  likelihood,  arose  from  some 
error  on  the  part  of  a  copyist.  The  Bollandists,2  at  this  date,  notice,  that 
there  are  two  Ultans  recorded  by  Sirinus,3  and  numbered  among  the  Irish 
Saints.  No  less  than  eighteen,  bearing  the  same  name,  are  to  be  found  in 
the  Martyrology  of  Donegal/  There  are  some  prophetical  Poems  5  extant, 
and  ascribed  to  Ultan,  of  Leitrim.  Whether  he  was  identical  with  this  or 
any  other  saint  bearing  the  name — for  many  Ultans  are  in  our  Calendars — 
cannot  be  determined.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,6  at  this  date,  we 
only  find  Ultan's  name  simply  entered. 


Article  VIII. — St.  Sineall,  or  Sillin.  We  find  the  simple  entry 
Sillin  recorded  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  at  this  date.  The  Bollandists2 
have  Sillinus  or  Sinellus,  and  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,3  Sineall,  at  the  1st 
of  July.  In  the  Table  appended  to  this  latter  record,  his  festival  is  incor- 
rectly placed,  at  the  1  st  of  the  preceding  month;  however,  it  is  probably 
only  an  error  in  the  printing  or  transcription/ 


Article  IX. — St.  Barrinu  or  Bairrfhinn.     It  is  inserted,  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  that  St.  Barrinu's  feast  was  held  on  this  day.    Also, 

184,  185.  4  See  Table,  pp.  476  to  479. 

Article   vl—  l   Edited    by   Rev.    Dr.  s  These  are  among  the  Messrs.  Hodges' 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  and  Smith's  Irish  Manuscripts  (No.  27,  a 

2_  See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"     tomus    i.,  small  paper  4to),  in  the  Royal  Irish  Aca- 

Julii  i.      Among   the   pretermitted   saints,  demy's  Collection.      There  are  here  similar 

p.  3»  Poems,  ascribed  to  Maeltamhleachta.  These 

3  It    is  not   to  be  found   in  Rev.    Dr.  Poems  have  special  reference  to  the  Anglo- 
O'Conor's  version,  nor  in  Dr.  O'Donovan's  Norman  Conquest. 

Four  Masters,  at  the  foregoing  date.  6  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

4  Edited  by  Rev.  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  184,   185. 

pp.  184,  185.  Article  viii.— r  Edited  by  Rev.   Dr. 

Article    vii.—  *    Edited   by    Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.   xxviii. 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  2   See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    i., 

2  See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"     tomus     i.,  Julii   i.     Among    the    pretermitted    saints, 
Julii   i.      Among  the    pretermitted    saints,  p.  3. 

P-  3-  3  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  .pp. 

3  In   "  Sancti  Rumoldi  Martyris  Inclyti,  184,  185. 
Archiepiscopi  Dubliniensis,  Mechliniensium  4  See  ibid.,  pp.470,  471. 

Apostoli,"  &c.    Index  Sanctorum.  Article    ix.—  l  Edited   by   Rev.    Dr. 


34  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i, 


at  the  i st  of  July,  and  on  the  authority  of  Sirinus,  the  Bollandists2  place 
Barninus  or  Barindus.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,*  a  festival  in  honour 
of  Bairrfhinn,  at  the  ist  of  July,  is  commemorated. 


Article  X. — St.  Connan.  A  festival  in  honour  of  Connan,  is  inserted 
in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,1  at  the  ist  of  July.  The  Bollandists2  enter 
Connanus,  at  the  same  date,  on  the  authority  of  Sirinus.3  This  is  probably 
the  saint,  whose  festival  has  been  entered  for  the  same  date,  in  the  Martyr- 
ology of  Tallagh.4    There,  however,  he  is  called  Commai,  bishop. 


Article  XI. — St.  Ernin.  The  name  Ernin  appears  in  the  Martyrology 
of  Donegal,1  at  the  ist  of  July.  On  the  authority  of  Sirinus,  the  Bollandists2 
have  inserted  the  simple  denomination  of  Erninus. 


Article  XII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Tarnanus,  Bishop  of  Lis- 
more,  Scotland.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Dempster,1  and  in  the  Calendar 
of  Ferrarius,2  at  the  ist  of  July,  there  is  a  festival  for  St.  Tarnanus,  Bishop  of 
Lismore.  Whether  there  is  warrant  for  such  a  statement  does  not  seem  to 
be  very  clear.'  The  Bollandists  3  refer  to  the  T2th  of  June,  for  their  notices 
of  him.  At  the  same  date,  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this  work/*  an  account  of 
St.  Ternan,  Apostle  of  the  Picts,  may  be  found. 


Article  XIII. — St.  Emant,  of  Cluain.  According  to  the  Martyrology 
of  Donegal,1  Emant,2  of  Cluain,  was  venerated  on  this  day,  and  Marianus 
O'Gorman  is  cited  as  authority  for  the  statement.  When  and  where  he 
flourished  does  not  seem  to  be  known. 


Article   XIV. — Festival  of  Aaron,  First  Priest  of  the  Mosaic 

Law.     In  the  Feilire  1  of  St.  ^Engus,  at  the  ist  of  July,  we  find  a  festival  in 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  ■  See  "  Catalogus  Generalis." 

2  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  3  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i., 
Julii  i.  Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  Julii  i.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts, 
p.  3-  p.  2. 

3  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,   pp.  «  See  Art.  ii. 

184,  185.  Article  xiii.— '  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd 

Article  x.—  x   Edited  by   Drs.   Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  184,  185. 

and  Reeves,  pp.  184,  185.  2  In  a  note  2,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Todd  says  at 

3    See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus     i.,  Emant:  "  This  name  is  added  by  the  more 

Julii  i.     Among  the     pretermitted    feasts,  recent    hand   from  Mar.    O'Gorman,    who 

p.  3*  styles  him  'bishop.'" 

3  See  "  Sancti  Rumoldi  Martyris  Inclyti,  Article    xiv.— x    In    the      "  Leabhar 

Archiepiscopi  Dubliniensis,  Mechliniensium  Breac"   copy,  the  following  rann  is  found, 

Apostoli,"  &c.  and   its   English  translation   has   been   fur- 

*  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  nished  by  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.  :— 

Article    XI.— *   Edited   by   Rev.  Drs. 

Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  184,  185.  hunt  ikl.  rmnbuil 

3  See     "Acta     Sanctorum,"    tomus    i.,  tTHnne  mor^r-  nuch^ 

Julii  i.      Among    the    pretermitted    feasts,  bar  -Anom  r <*b  rrunche 

p.  3«  Simon  A^ur"  CacVia. 

Article    xii.—  x     See    "  Menologium 

Scoticum,"— Bishop    Forbes'    "  Kalendars  "On   July's  marvellous  Kalend   is    Mary 

of  Scottish  Saints,"  p.  204.  whom  Matthew    magnifies :   the  death  of 


July  2.]  LIVES  OE  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  35 


honour  of  Aaron.  To  this  entry,  the  scholiast  has  added  Latin  notes,  stating 
that  he  was  the  first  priest,  and  brother  of  Moyses,  while  it  is  added,  that  he 
died  on  Mount  Oir.3 


Article  XV. — Feast  of  Mary.  The  Feilire  x  of  St.  ^Engus  has  a 
festival  on  this  day  for  Mary,  whom  Matthew  magnifies  ;  and  therefore,  the 
commentator  has  it,  that  she  was  the  Mother  of  our  Lord,  and  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary.2 


Article  XVI. — Festival  of  Saints  Simon  and  Thaddaeus.  In  the 
Feilire1  of  St.  ^Engus,  at  the  1st  of  July,  a  Festival  for  Saints  Simon2  and 
Thaddaeus  3  is  noted. 


£>erontr  JBap  of  Sfttljn 


ARTICLE    I.— ST.    TERNOG,    OR   TERNOC,   OF  CLUAIN-MOR. 

ONLY  a  supposition  can  be  raised,  that  the  present  holy  man  lived  in 
the  early  period  of  the  Irish  Church.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1 
we  find  a  festival  entered,  at  the  2nd  of  July,  in  honour  of  Ternoc,  of  Cluana- 
moir.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Marianus  O'Gorman,  at  the  2nd  of  July,  this 
saint  is  eulogized,  as  being  innocent  and  virgin-like.2  Whether  this  was  the 
St.  Mernocus,  or  Ternocus,  who  is  mentioned,  as  having  lived  a  solitary  life  in 
that  delightful  Island,  near  the  Mountain  of  Stone,  and  who  flourished  before 
that  time  when  St.  Brendan  the  Navigator  3  sailed  on  his  adventurous  voyage 
beyond  the  Atlantic,  cannot  well  be  determined.*  We  have  seen  already, 
that  St.  Columkille  s  had  a  disciple  named  Ternoc,  who  interrogated  him  re- 


Aaron  a  mighty  man  of  wisdom:  Simon  and  Leabhar  Breac  adds  to  his  name  "Canna- 

Thaddaeus." — "Transactions  of  the  Royal  neus."     See  ibid.,  p.  cxv. 

Irish  Academy,"  Irish    Manuscript  Series,  3  The  following  Latin  note  is  added  by  the 

vol.  i.,  part  i.    On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus.  commentator  :  "  tatha  .i.  tatheus  qui  dicitur 

By  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.,  p.  cix.  et  iudas  et  frater  iacopi  .i.  filii  alfei."     See 

2  Also  added  :  "  I  Uil  i  kl.  mirbuil  71I."  ibid.,  p.  cxv.     At  this  date,  the  scholiast  has 

See  ibid.,  p.  cxv.  an  entry  of  his  own  as  follows  :  "hiuil  .i. 

Article  xv. — '  See    "Transactions   of  proprium  sancti  in  albain  nescio  ubi  est." 

the   Royal    Irish   Academy,"   Irish   Manu-  This  is  translated   " Julius,  i.e.,  the  proper 

script  series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.  On  the  Calendar  name  of  a  saint  in  Scotland.     I  know  not 

of  Oengus.      By  Whitley   Stokes,    LL.D.,  where  he  is. 

p.  cix.  Article    i. — '     Edited    by    Rev.    Dr. 

2  Thus  annotated  :  "jkiuire  .i.  mater  do-  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

mini.  Matha  .i.  oirdned  matha."   The  latter  2  The  Latin  words  are  "  candidus  et  vir- 

wrords  are   translated    "Matthew's    ordina-  gineus." 

tion. "     See  ibid.,  p.  cxv.  3  See  his  Acts  in  the  Fifth  Volume  of  this 

Article  xvi. —  *  See  "Transactions  of  work,  at  the  16th  of  May,  Art.  i. 

the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  4  See  Colgan's    "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber- 

Series,   vol.   i.,   part  i.     On  the  Calendar  niae,"  xxii.  Martii.     Egressio  S.  Brendani, 

of   Oengus.     By   Whitley  Stokes,    LL.D.,  p.  721,  and  n.  3,  p.  725. 

p.  cix.  5  See  his  Life,  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this 

2  The  commentator  on  the  Feilire  in  the  work,   at  June  9th,  Art.  i. 


36  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  2. 


garding  futurity  f  yet,  we  should  be  far  from  intimating,  that  he  was  identical 
with  the  present  saint.  The  St.  Ternog  under  consideration  appears  to  have  been 
venerated  at  a  place,  called  Cluain-mor  ;  but,  where  it  was  situated,  we  are  not 
informed.  It  must  be  observed,  that  Mr.  John  M'Call  places  it,  in  the  county 
of  Carlow  ;  and,  if  such  be  the  case,  it  seems  most  likely,  that  the  present 
holy  man  was  that  Abbot  or  Bishop  of  Ferns,  mentioned  in  the  note  of 
Colgan  to  St.  Brigid's  Acts,?  and  who  died  a.d.  662. 8  The  name,  however, 
is  there  printed  Tuenocus,  or  Tuenoc,  yet  elsewhere  Ternoc.9  There  is  a 
parish  of  Clonmore,10  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  and  in  connexion  with  it, 
we  find  allusion  made  to  the  present  St.  Temoc,11  whose  feast  has  been  set 
down,  by  Colgan,  in  one  instance  at  the  2nd  of  June,12  and  in  another  place, 
at  the  2nd  of  July  '3 — which  latter  is  the  correct  date.  Nevertheless,  we  are  not 
to  assume,  that  the  present  Cluain-mor  is  to  be  confounded  with  Cluain-mor- 
Moedhoc,  which  was  in  the  county  of  Carlow.  However,  of  the  many  Clon- 
mores  in  Ireland,  we  cannot  know  with  certainty  to  which  of  these  the  pre- 
sent holy  man  belonged.  The  Martyrology  of  Donegal,1*  at  the  2nd  of  July, 
enters  a  feast  for  Tern6g,  of  Cluain-mor.  In  the  Manuscript  Calendar  of 
Professor  Eugene  O' Curry,  the  feast  of  St.  Ternog  is  entered,  at  the  2nd  of 
July.  At  the  present  date,  citing  the  authority  of  Sirinus,  the  Bollandists  1S 
have  a  misprinted  entry  of  Fernacus  de  Cluain-mor ;  but,  they  desire  to  have 
clearer  evidences  regarding  him. 


Article  II. — The  Daughter  or  Daughters  of  Cathbath,  or  Cath- 
badh,  of  Airedh  Fotha.  A  festival  to  honour  the  Daughters  of  Cathbadh, 
of  Airiud,  is  entered  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  at  the  2nd  of  July. 
Marianus  O'Gorman  has  a  notice  concerning  the  chaste  Daughters  of 
Cathbad  of  Airida  Foda,  on  the  same  day.  In  the  Acts  of  St.  Patrick,3  there 
is  a  Fothadh3 — probably  identical — mentioned  as  having  been  a  rflll  in 
Tyrconnell.  We  find  this  place  also  written  Airedh  fotha,  in  the  published 
Martyrology  of  Donegal,4  at  this  same  date,  when  there  is  only  mention  made 
of  the  Daughter  of  Cathbath,  without  giving  her  proper  name  ;  while  the 
Bollandists,s  quoting  the  same  authority,  have  the  Daughters  of  Cathbad  in 
Airiudh,  yet  they  want  a  fuller  and  more  distinct  account  in  reference  to  the 
foregoing  insertions. 

6  See   Colgan 's   "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  batis,  n.  17,  p.  597. 

Prince    O'Donnell's    or    Quinta    Vita    S.  I3    See    "Trias    Thaumaturga,"    Quinta 

Columbee,  lib.  i.,  cap.  ciii.,  p.  406.  VitaS.  Columbse,  lib.   i.,  cap.  ciii.,  n.  84, 

1  See    "Trias    Thaumaturga,"    Quarta  p.  451. 

Vita  S.    Brigidse,   lib.    ii.,   Cap.    ii.,  n.   2,  ,4  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

p.  564.  184,  185. 

8  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "  Annals  of  the  lS  See    "  Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    i., 
Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  272,  273.  Julii   ii.       Among  the  pretermitted  saints, 

9  In   the   Tertius   Index    Historicus,    to  p.  293. 

Colgan's  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  p.  695.  ARTICLE   II.—  1    Edited    by    Rev.   Dr. 

10  It  is  situated,  chiefly  in  the  barony  of      Kelly,  p.  xxviii.    Thus  entered   "  Inghena 
Bantry,  4,821a.   3r.  3op.,  and  partly  in  the      Cathbadh  in  Airiigrl." 

barony  of  Shelmaliere  West,  1,945a.  or.  35p.  •  See  his  Life,  in  the  Third  Volume  of 

It  is  described,  on  the  "  Ordnance  Survey  this  work,  at  the  17th  of  March,  Art.  i. 

Townland  Maps  for  the  Cownty  of  Wexford/'  3  See  Colgan's    "Trias    Thaumaturga," 

sheets  25,  26,  31,  32.  Septima  Vita  S.  Patricii,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  cxii., 

"  See  "Letters  containing  Information  rela-  p.  144. 

live  to  the  Antiquities  Of  theCounty  ofWex-  4  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

ford,  collected  during  the  Progress  of  the  184,  185. 

Ordnance  Survey  in  1840,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  35,  s    See    "Acta     Sanctorum,"    tomus    i., 

■    See    "Acta   Sanctorum    Hibernia,"  Julii  ii.      Among  the  pretermitted  saints, 

xii.    Martii.     Vila     S.    Mochoemoci   Ab-  p.  293. 


July  3.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  37 


Article  III. — Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Canicus,  among  the 
Hebrideans,  Scotland.  [Sixth  Cetitury.~\  Among  the  Scottish  Entries  in  the 
Kalendar  of  David  Camerarius,  as  found  in  Bishop  Forbes'  work,1  there  is  a 
festival  set  down  for  St.  Cahinnicus,  Abbot,  at  the  and  of  June.  The  Bollan- 
dists 2  copy  this  notice,  likewise,  but  they  remark,  that  his  Acts  more  properly 
refer  to  the  nth  of  October,  at  which  date  they  were  destined  for  further 
illustration. 


Article  IV. — Festival  of  St.  Euticius,  Martyr,  at  Rome.  The 
Martyr  Euticius  was  honoured  with  a  festival,  in  the  ancient  Church  of  Ireland, 
on  the  2nd  of  July.  This  we  know  from  the  "  Feilire  "  of  St.  ^Engus,1  where 
he  is  called  a  Bishop.  This  notice  seems  to  have  been  extracted  from  the 
old  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome,  and  the  Bollandists 2  appear  to  have  gleaned 
little  in  addition,  at  this  date,  to  elucidate  his  period  and  sufferings. 


Article  V. — Feast  of  Saints  Processus  and  Martinianus,  Martyrs 
at  Rome.  There  was  a  festival,  for  the  holy  Martyrs  Processus  and 
Martinianus  at  Rome,  held  in  the  old  Irish  Church  at  the  2nd  of  July,  and  as 
stated  in  the  "Feilire"  of  St.  ^Engus.1  To  this,  the  commentator  has  added 
an  explanatory  note.2  The  Acts  of  their  martyrdom  are  given  by  the  Bollan- 
dists, 3  from  Surius,  with  a  previous  commentary,  in  three  sections  and  in 
seventeen  paragraphs,  at  this  same  date. 


CftfrU  2Bap  of  SWp* 


ARTICLE  I.— ST.  GERMAN,  FIRST  BISHOP  OF  THE  ISLE  OF  MAN. 
[FIFTH  CENTURY.] 

NOTWITHSTANDING   historic  doubts— justifiable  within  a  certain 
limit — that  the  present  holy  man  should  be  regarded  as  having  an 
early  veneration,  and  that  he  should  be  considered  as  the  first  missionary 

Article  hi.—  *  Thus  :  "2  Die.  Sanctus  tinianus."— "  Transactions    of  the    Royal 

Cahinnicus  Abbas  miraculis  et  vitae  puritate  Irish  Academy,"  Irish   Manuscript  Series, 

apud   Hebridianos  et    Orcadienses   Scotos  vol.i.,  part  i.    On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus, 

Celebris." — "  Kalendars  of  Scottish  Saints,"  p.  cix. 

p.  238.  2   See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    1., 

2    See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    i.,  Julii  ii.     De   S.  Euticio  Martyre  Romano, 

Julii   ii.      Among  the   pretermitted  feasts,  p.   306.     Edited  by  Father    John    Baptist 

p.  294.  Soller,  S.J. 

Article  iv.—  *   The  following  stanza,  Article  v.—  x  See  Leabhar  Breac  copy, 

and  its  translation  from  the  Irish,  are  from  Royal  Irish  Academy,  and  Transactions   of 

the  Leabhar  Br-eac  copy,  in  the  Royal  Irish  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript 

Academy  :—  Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.      On  the  Calendar  of 

Oengus.  By  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.,  p.cix. 

CAimuHiOucAicefpoc  2  Thus  :  "  Marciani  vel  martiani  .i.  pro 

■OAtnAfi  conani  marticiani  per  concisionem  mediae  sjjlabs  in 

pAif  p|\ocefp  f^S^  utroque     nomine    vel    martiniani." — Ibid., 

HiAr  mon  tTUnciAui.  p.  cxv. 

3  See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus     1., 

"The    death-bed    of  bishop   Euticius    of  Julii  ii.    De  Sanctis  Processo  et  Martiniano 

Damasus  with   splendour  :    the  passion   of  Martyribus  Romre,  pp.  300  to  305.     Edited 

kingly  Processus :  the  great  torture  of  Mar-  by  Father  John  Baptist  Soller,  S.J. 


38  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  3. 


Bishop  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  a  constant  tradition  has  there  prevailed,  that  his 
mission  was  delegated  to  him  from  Ireland,  in  its  first  century  of  Christianity, 
and  that  he  had  then  been  classed  among  the  disciples  of  St.  Patrick.1  He 
is  also  called  Jarmanus.2  The  Bollandists  have  published  some  brief  notices 
of  this  saint,3  in  three  paragraphs.  Notices  of  him  occur  in  Bishop 
Challenor's  *  work.  We  know  few  particulars  of  an  authentic  character 
regarding  him  ;  and,  we  are  left  in  a  state  of  uncertainty,  respecting  the 
country  and  parentage  of  the  present  holy  man,  who  appears  to  have  been  a 
native  of  France  or  of  Great  Britain.  But,  whether  he  had  been  baptized  in 
the  Christian  Faith  at  an  early  age,  or  whether  he  had  received  first  instruc- 
tion from  the  Irish  Apostle,  must  be  a  matter  left  for  further  historic  investi- 
gation. 

In  the  fifth  century,  lie  lived,  according  to  a  general  supposition ;  while  some 
writers  maintain,  that  the  present  German  5  was  not  a  distinct  person  from 
St.  Germanus  of  Auxerre,6  to  whom  the  cathedral  of  Man  was  dedicated.? 
one  opinion  8  has  it,9  that  the  German  of  Man  had  been  consecrated  Bishop 
by  Pope  Celestine  I.,  after  his  appointment  as  a  Canon  of  St.  John  Lateran's 
church,  in  Rome.  It  is  stated,  also,  that  the  dignity  of  Bishop  was  conferred 
on  him,  when  the  Irish  Apostle  had  been  elevated  to  that  distinguished  office.10 
This  is  improbable,  for  it  does  not  rest  on  any  well  sustained  evidence.  We 
are  informed,11  however,  that  St.  German  became  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick.12 
By  the  illustrious  Irish  Apostle,  he  was  called  to  the  ministry;  but,  whether 
in  Ireland  or  in  Great  Britain  has  not  transpired. 

Finding  in  Ireland,  that  the  harvest  was  great,  but  the  labourers  few,T3  St. 
Patrick  passed  over  into  Britain,  about  the  year  447, I4  according  to  a  gene- 
rally received  opinion.  The  Irish  Apostle  proposed  to  procure  a  number  of 
learned  and  religious  men,  to  be  his  assistants  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel. 
We  are  informed,  also,  that  he  desired  to  remove  the  Arian  and  Pelagian 
heresy  from  Britain,  at  this  time.  After  a  short  stay  in  Britain,  he  returned 
to  Ireland,  accompanied  by  a  great  many  notable  labourers.  No  fewer  than 
thirty  of  these  were  afterwards  made  Bishops. T5 

Long  before  the  time  of  this  great  Apostle,  the  Isle  of  Man — inhabited 
by  an  ancient  Celtic  race — seems  to  have  been  under  the  influence  of  druid- 
ism,10  and  it  is  supposed  that  several  of  their  monuments  yet  remain.  Its 
remote  history  is  not  very  well  known.  At  an  early  period,  it  was  subject  to 
the  King  of  North  Wales.     In  the  fourtr  century,1?  the  Scots  are  said  to  have 


Article    i.—  *    See    Colgan's    "  Trias  8  That  of  Colgan,  who  refers  to  the  Office 

Thaumaturga,"  Quinta  Appendix  ad  Acta  f  the  Canons  Regular  of  Lateran. 

S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiii.,  p.  266.  9  See   " Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Sexta  Vita 

a  By  Castellan.  S.  Patricii,   cap.  xcii.,  n.  103,  p.  113. 

3  See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"     tomus    i.,  I0  See  ibid.,  Appendix  Prima  ad  Acta  S. 

Julii    iii.      I)e   S.    Germano    Episcopo,     in  Patricii,  Lect.  v.,  p.  196. 

Mantua  sive  Mona,  Maris  Hibernici  Insula,  ll  By  Jocelyn,  the  monk  of  Furness. 

pp.667.  "   See  Colgan's  "  Trias  Thaumaturga," 

*  See  "Britannia  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  July  Quinta  Appendix  ad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  cap. 

3rd,  pp.  8,  9.  xxiii.,  p.  266. 

sit  may  be  observed,  a  St.  Germanus,  a  I3  See   Colgan's    "Trias   Thaumaturga," 

Martyr  at  Tarsus.,  in  Cilicia,  was  venerated,  Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xcii.,  p.  86. 

likewise,  on  this  day,  July  3rd.  m  See  Ussher's  "Britannicarum  Ecclesia- 

6  This  holy  Bishop  is  venerated,  on  the  rum    Antiquitates,"  Index  Chronologicus, 
31st  of  July.  p.  518. 

7  See  what  has  been  written  already  in  the  Js  See   Colgan's   "Trias    Thaumaturga," 
life  of  Maguil,  or  Machaldus,  Patron  and  Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xcii.,  p.  86. 
Bishop,  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  in  the  Fourth  ,6  See  "  Gazetteer  of  the  World,"  vol.  ix., 
Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  25th  of  April,  p.  85. 

Art.  i.  "7  According  to   Paulus   Orosius,   in  his 


July  3.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  39 


inhabited  Monaor  Mevania18 — ajncient  names  for  Man1? — as  also  Hibernia. 
To  reclaim  its  inhabitants  from  their  superstitions,30  as  also  from  their  mystic 
and  druidic  rites,  the  Irish  Apostle  turned  his  attention  to  this  Isle,  when  he 
had  laboured  with  success  in  Ireland.  He  thereupon  sailed  over  to  Man. 
St.  Patrick,  who  lived  for  some  time  on  an  Island  or  Peninsula — which 
afterwards  bore  his  name — wrought  miracles  while  he  was  there,  and  he 
laboured  to  gain  the  people  2I  over  to  the  truths  of  religion.22  He  then  ap- 
pointed one  of  his  disciples,  named  Germanus,  a  wise  and  holy  man,  to  be  direc- 
tor over  this  new  church.  He  is  said  to  have  been  consecrated  as  first  Bishop  of 
the  Isle  of  Man.33-  His  mission  was  consolidated,  by  the  erection  of  a  church, 
which  was  the  first  known  to  exist  in  the  Isle ;  and  this  formed  the  nucleus 
of  a  See,  Sodor  and  Man,2*  the  origin  of  which  is  rather  obscure,  but  it  is 
said  to  have  been  so  constituted  by  Pope  Gregory  IV., 25  at  Sodor.  While 
some  are  of  opinion,  that  Sodor  had  been  situated  in  the  celebrated  Isle  of 
Iona,  others  state,  that  it  was  in  Man  itself.  Again,  it  has  been  asserted,  that 
after  the  Danes  and  Norwegians  held  sway  over  this  Island  in  the  eleventh 
century,  as  also  over  Dublin  and  Fingal,  together  with  the  Hebrides  of  Scot- 
land \  these  western  clusters  were  divided  into  Norder,  meaning  "  northern," 
and  Sudor,  meaning  "  southern,"  in  the  Norwegian  language,  Man  being 
included  in  the  Sudor,  and  Sodor  thus  became  the  title  for  its  See.20 

The  church  of  St.  Germanus  was  built  on  an  Island  promontory,  called 
after  St.  Patrick. 27  It  has  also  been  called  Kirck-Jarmans,  and  it  is  situated 
near  Peel  Castle,  being  nearly  surrounded  by  the  sea,  and  isolated  in  posi- 
tion,28 on  the  western  side  of  the  Isle,  near  the  margin  of  a  spacious  bay 
The  channel  which  divides  it  from  the  mainland  at  high  water  is  very  deep ; 
but,  when  the  tide  is  out,  the  water  is  scarcely  mid-leg  deep,  being  only 
separated  by  a  little  rivulet,  which  flows  from  Kirk-Jarmyn  Mountains.  The 
present  ruinous  cathedral 20  is  thought  to  have  stood  on  the  site  of  a  more 
ancient  church.     It  was  constructed,  about  the  year  1245,3°  and  it  is  built  in 


work,     "  Ad  versus    Paganos     Historiarum  22  According  to  the  "  Chronicon  Manniae," 

Libri  VII.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  2.     This  work  only  St.  Patrick  was  the  first  to  preach  the  Catho- 

comes  down  to  a.d.  316.  Leyden,  1738  or  lie  Faith  to  the  Maux.     See  Ussher's  "Bri- 

1767,  4to.     This  writer  flourished  about  the  tannicarum  Ecclesiarum  Antiquitates,"  cap. 

beginning  of  the  fifth  century.   See  Michaud's  xv.,  p.  335. 

"  Biographie  Universelle  Ancienne  et  Mo-  23  See  "The   Beauties   of  England  and 

derne,"  tome  xxxi.,  p.  409.  Wales  ;    or    Delineations,    Topographical, 

18  "  The  ancients  were  acquainted  with  it  Historical  and  Descriptive,"  vol.  iii.     The 
under  various  names.     Caesar  distinguishes  it  Isle  of  Man,  p.  269. 

by  that  of  Mona  ;  Ptolemy  calls  it  Monczda,  24  According  to  Gough's  Camden's  "Bri- 

or  the  more  remote  Mona,  to  distinguish  it  tannia,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  701. 

from  Anglesea,  the  Mona  of  Tacitus.     Pliny  25  He  ruled  over  the   See  of  St.  Peter, 

styles  it  Monabia;  Orosius,  Mevania;   and  from   A.D.    828   to   844.       See    Sir    Harris 

Nennius,  Eubonia  and  Manaw.    The  appel-  Nicolas'  "  Chronology  of  History,"  p.  209. 

lation  given  to  it  by  the  Britons  was  Menaw ;  26  See  "  Gazetteer  of  the  World,"  vol.  ix., 

the  natives  call  it  Manning."  —"  The  Beau-  p.  85. 

ties  of  England  and  Wales  ;  or  Delineations,  27  Train's  "  History  of  the  Isle  of  Man  "  is 

Topographical,  Historical  and  Descriptive."  a  work  of  great  research,  in  reference  to  the 

By   John    Britton    and    Edward    Wedlake  ecclesiastical  antiquities  of  this  Island. 

Brayley,  vol.  iii.     The  Isle  of  Man,  p.  248.  28  The  accompanying  view  is  copied  from 

19  See  Ussher's  "  Britannicarum  Ecclesia-  an   approved   illustration,    by    William    F. 
rum  Antiquitates,"  cap.  xv.,  p.  335.  Wakeman,  and  drawn    on   the  wood,    en- 

20  Some  of  these  are  pleasingly  introduced  graved  by  Mrs.  Millard. 

by  the  great  master  of  historic  romance,  Sir  29  A   south-east   view  of  it  with  various 

Walter  Scott,  in  his  "  Peveril  of  the  Peak,"  other  illustrations   in  detail,   may  be  found, 

chap,  xvi.,  with  historic  notes  appended.  in  the  "Archaeological  Journal,"  vol,  iii.   See 

21  According  to  Jocelyn,  the  former  name  J.  L.  Petit's  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  the 
of  Man  was  Eubonia.  Isle  of  Man,  pp.  49  to  58. 


40 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  3. 


the  form  of  a  cross,  with  a  coarse  grey  stone  j*1  however,  the  angles,  window- 
cases  and  arches  are  coigned,  formed  with  a  stone  found  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  almost  as  red  as  brick. 32  A  little  to  the  west  are  the  ruins  of  St. 
Patrick's  church.  This  is  of  ancient  style  with  round-arched  windows.  A  small 
round  tower — like  the  Irish  or  Brechin  round  towers — lies  near  it  westwards. 
A  flight  of  steps  ascends  to  the  door,  and  within  it  are  stairs  for  ascending  to 
the  top  of  that  building.33  Beside  it  are  the  ruins  of  a  quadrangular  church, 
having  features  in  common  with  many  of  our  old  Irish  churches. 34 


St.  German's  Cathedral,  Isle  of  Man. 

St.  Germanus  is  said  to  have  laboured  in  the  work  of  his  ministry,  until 
the  time  of  his  death,  in  the  Isle  of  Man.35  On  St.  Patrick's  return  from 
Britain,  he  visited  the  islands,  in  order  to  gain  them  over  to  Christ.  In  par- 
ticular, he  preached  the  Christian  faith  with  great  success  in  the  Isle  of  Man. 36 
Nevertheless,  it  is  thought,  that  he  left  mainly  to  Germanus  the  task  of  com- 
pleting his  mission.  The  date  for  St.  German's  death  has  been  assigned  to 
a.d.  474.37  In  the  ancient  Martyrologies,  however,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  dis- 
cover the  name  of  this  Germanus.  On  this  day,  July  3rd,  his  festivity  is 
usually  recorded. 38     St.  Patrick  consecrated  two  others  of  his  disciples,  St. 


30  See  Grose's  "Antiquities  of  England," 
toI.  vi. 

dimensions  are  minutely  given,  in 
J.  L.  Petit's  paper,  already  mentioned. 

32  A  ground  plan  of  the  cathedral  church 
of  St.  German  in  Peel  Castle  in  the  Isle  of 
Man,  as  also  an  effective  copperplate  engrav- 
ing of  that  ruined  fane,  taken  in  1775,  may 
be  found  in  "  The  Beauties  of  England  and 
Wales ;  or  Delineations,  Topographical, 
Historical  and  Descriptive,"  vol.  ii.,  The 
Isle   of  Man,  pp.  288,  289. 

33  See  Gough's  Camden's  "  Britannia," 
vol.  iii.,  p.  703. 

34  A  well-executed  wood  engraving  of  this 
ancient  church  and  the  round  tower  may  be 


seen  prefixed  to  the  article,  written  by  J.  L. 
Petit  for  the  "  Archaeological  Journal,"  enti- 
tled Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  the  Isle  of 
Man,  vol.  iii.,  p.  49. 

35  Several  beautiful  illustrations  of  this 
Island  may  be  found,  in  the  Abbotsford  edi- 
tion of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Waverly  Novels. 
See  vol.  vii.,   "  Peveril  of  the  Peak." 

36  This  account  is  confirmed,  by  a  Manu- 
script Chronicle  of  that  Island. 

37  See  Ussher's  "  Britannicarum  Ecclesia- 
rum   Antiquitates,"    Index   Chronologicus, 

A.D.  CCCCLXIV.,  p.  522. 

38  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Les  Vies 
des  Saints,"  tome  viii.,  iiic  Jour  de  Juillet, 
p.  2. 


July  3.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  41 


Conindrius  39  and  St.  Romulus  4°  to  be  Bishops  of  Man,  when  our  saint 
passed  away  to  bliss.  After  their  death  these  were  succeeded  by  St. 
Maguil,*1  Macaldus.42  After  conversion,  this  latter  prelate  was  eminent  for 
his  sanctity  and  for  his  miracles.  These  were  the  first  fathers  and  founders 
of  the  church,  which  was  established  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  by  our  great  Apostle. 
In  later  times,  and  after  the  Reformation,  while  the  Protestant  Bishops  of 
Sodor  and  Man  «3  became  suffragans  to  the  Archbishop  of  York,  the 
Catholics  on  the  Island  were  subjects  of  the  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Dublin; 
in  the  present  century,  however,  they  have  been  annexed  to  the  See  of  Liver- 
pool, England. 


Article  II. — St.  Guthagon,  Confessor,  in  Belgium.  [Probably  in 
the  Eighth  Ctntury.']  Incidentally  we  are  informed,  that  the  Belgian 
Flemings  were  formerly  accustomed  to  bestow  the  name  of  Scots  on  strangers 
to  their  own  country,  and  who  differed  from  the  Belgians  in  manners  and 
customs ;  much  after  the  habit  of  the  Romans,  who  called  all  other  extern 
people — except  those  living  in  Italy  or  Greece — by  the  depreciating  title  of 
barbari  or  "barbarians."  Wherefore,  an  insinuation  is  conveyed,1  that 
several  of  the  Belgian  saints  called  Scoti  may  have  been  strangers  only,  and 
not  necessarily  natives  either  of  Ireland  or  Scotland.  However,  in  the  pre- 
sent case,  no  argument  is  sought  to  be  drawn  against  the  generally  received 
statement,  that  Guthagon  had  been  a  native  of  Scotia  ;  whether  of  the  greater 
or  lesser  Scotia  has  been  controverted,  but  it  is  left  to  the  decision  of  the 
investigator.  The  most  ancient  authority  for  St.  Guthagon's  Acts — briefly  as 
they  are  recorded — seems  to  have  been  an  old  office,  belonging  to  the  church 
at  Oostkerke,  near  Bruges,  in  Belgium.  From  it,  Jean  Ver-Meulen,2  better 
known  by  the  Latinized  form  of  Molanus,  probably  copied  that  relation  of 
the  present  saint  in  his  Indiculus  of  the  holy  persons  connected  with  the 
Netherlands.  Notices  of  St.  Guthagon  are  to  be  found,  likewise,  in  the 
"  Natales  Sanctorum  Belgii  et  eorum  Chronologica  Recapitulatio,"  at  the  3rd 
of  July.3  Jean  Cousin,  also  denominated  Canonicus  Joannes  Cognatus,  has 
copied  from  him/  what  had  been  related  about  the  present  holy  man.  The 
Bollandists  s  have  some  particulars  regarding  this  saint,  and  prefixed  in  a 
commentary  6  of  ten  paragraphs,  to  an  office  read  in  the  church  at  Oostkerk. 
There  are  notices  of  him,  at  the  3rd  of  July,  by  Bishop  Challenor.?  At  this 
date,  also,  he  is  commemorated  as  a  recluse,  by  the  Rev.  Alban  Butler.8  He 

39  According  to  Colgan,  he  is  more  cor-  2  He  was  born  at  Lille,  A.D.  1553,  and 
rectly  to  be  named  Condirius,  who  is  vene-  being  distinguished  as  a  learned  theologian 
rated  in  our  Irish  Calendars,  at  the  17th  of  and  ecclesiastical  historian  in  the  University 
November.  See  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  of  Louvain,  he  died  prematurely,  on  the  1 8th 
Quarta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  nn.  63,  64,  p.  50.  of  September,  1585.     See  an  account  ofhim 

40  Colgan  states,  that  he  had  another  name,  and  of  his  works  in  Michaud's  "  Biographie 
Romanus,  and  that  his  feast  is  to  be  found,  Universelle,  Ancienne  et  Moderne,"  tome 
at  the  1 8th  of  November.     See  ibid.  xxviii.,  pp.  516,  517. 

41  His  feast  has  been  assigned  to  April  3  In  two  paragraphs,  pp.  139,  140. 

25th.    At  that  date,  his  Acts  are  to  be  found  4   See  "  Historia  Tornacensis,  tomus  iii., 

in  the  fourth  Volume  of  this  work,  Art.  i.  p.  272. 

42  See  Colgan's  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  5  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii 
Jocelyn's  "  Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,"  cap.  cli.,  iii.  De  S.  Guthagono  Confessore  Oostkerae 
clii.,  pp.  98,  99.  apud  Brugas  in  Flandria,  pp.  668  to  670. 

43  The  Protestant  bishop  of  Sodor  and  6  Written  by  Father  John  Baptist 
Man  is  the  sole  baron  of  the  Island.     See  Soller,  S.J. 

"  The  Popular  Encyclopedia  ;  or  Conversa-  7  See  "  Britannia  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  8. 

tions  Lexicon,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  655.  8  In  his  "Lives   of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs, 

Article  II. — I  By  Father  John  Baptist  and    other    principal     Saints,"     vol.    vii., 

Soller,  S.J,  July  iii. 


42  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  3. 


is  noticed,  likewise,  in  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,?  at  the  3rd  of  July.  This 
saint,  according  to  the  Belgian  traditions,  was  either  a  king,10  or  son  to  a  King 
of  Scotia.  As  usual,  the  Scottish  writers  contend,  that  he  was  their  country- 
man;11 but,  the  Irish  seem  to  have  stronger  claims  for  the  honour  of  his 
nativity  in  their  country.  He  is  thought  to  have  flourished  during  the  eighth 
century.  Some  will  have  it,  that  he  journeyed  to  Rome  ;  yet,  although  such 
pilgrimages  to  the  shrines  of  the  Apostles  and  martyrs  there  were  undertaken 
by  the  Irish,  Scots  and  Angles,  soon  after  their  conversion  to  Christianity, 
there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  sufficient  warrant  for  that  statement  in 
reference  to  St.  Guthagon.  Through  religious  motives,  however,  he  entered 
on  a  pilgrimage,  and  with  a  companion,  named  Gillon.  They  arrived  in  Bel- 
gium, but  at  what  period  is  not  with  certainty  known.  They  rested  at  a  place 
known  as  Knocken  or  Cnokem,  which  was  situated  on  the  maritime  shore  of 
Flanders.  Nor  was  it  far  removed  from  Oostkerke.  This  village  lay  near 
Burges,  on  the  sea  side,  between  it  and  Slusa."  There  the  virtuous  life  of  St. 
Guthegon  gave  very  great  edification  to  the  people  of  that  country.  Another 
companion,  Gildulfus,  is  commemorated  with  the  foregoing,  and  he  spent  an 
eremitical  life  with  them,  in  Belgium.^  Here,  St.  Guthagon  led  a  solitary  life, «4 
until  the  time  of  his  death.  It  is  not  known  for  certain,  whether  he  died  at 
Cnokem  or  at  Oostkerke.  However,  the  clergy  and  people  of  that  district 
reverently  interred  his  body,  according  to  tradition  in  the  western  part  of  the 
cemetery  of  Oostkerke.  Those  holy  men,  Saints  Guthagon  and  Gillon,  rest  at 
Oist-Kerke,  in  Flanders.  After  St.  Guthagon's  death,  miracles  were  wrought 
at  his  grave.  Gerald,  Bishop  of  Tournay,  in  the  year  n  59,  exhumed  St. 
Guthagon's  body  and  placed  it  in  a  feretrum.  The  Abbots  of  Aldenburg, 
Dunens  and  of  Quercetan  were  present.15  It  would  seem,  that  at  a  subsequent 
period,  towards  the  end  of  a.d.  1444,  there  was  another  translation  of  St. 
Guthagon's  remains.  In  the  succeeding  century,  Jean  Ver-Meulen  relates, 
that  he  saw  these  relics  kept  within  iron  gratings  in  the  wall  of  the  church. 
It  has  been  remarked  in  our  saint's  office,  that  the  shrine  was  hardly  kept  in 
a  becoming  manner.  The  Calvinists  profaned  the  relics  of  St.  Guthagon 
after  the  Reformation,16  and  they  seem  to  have  utterly  destroyed  them; 
nothing  having  remained  but  a  tooth  of  the  holy  man,  which  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  collegiate  church  of  St.  Saviour,  at  Bruges.  On  the  case  con- 
taining it  had  been  inscribed  these  words  :  "  Dens  S.  Guthagonis."  In  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century,  the  tooth  of  St.  Guthagon  was  kept  in  the 
church  at  Oostkerke,  and  on  the  3rd  day  of  eacli  July,  it  was  there  exposed 


9  See  "Vies  des  Saints,"  tome  viii.,  Oostkerke  stated  to  Father  Soller,  that  this 
iiie  Jour  de  Juillet,  p.  I.  village  was  situated  "  in  agio  Franconatensi 

10  In  the  ancient  Office  of  St.  Guthagon,  he  inter  Brugas  et  Slusam,  distans  ab  Utraque 
is  called  King  of  Scotia,  as  also  by  other  sesquimilliari."  Before  his  time  it  was  a 
writers.  much  more  important  place,  while  it  had  two 

"  Thus,  at  the   3rd  of  July,  in   Adam  pastors  and  llnee  assistants,  with  five  thou- 

King's  "Kalendar,"  he  is  placed  in  the  first  sand  communicants,     lie  adds,   moreover, 

century,  and  in  the  following  words  :   "  S.  that  he  knew  three  villages  bearing  the  same 

Guthagon  sone  to  ye  King  of  Scotland  con-  name  in    Belgium,    "nempe   apud   Brugas, 

fess.  banished  for  ye  catholik  faith  in  flan-  apud  Furnas,    et  in  Brabantia    apud    Tu- 

ders  vnder  diocletiane,  99." — Bishop  Forbes'  bise." 

"  Kalendars   of  Scottish   Saints,"    p.    156.  I3  See  Father  Stephen  White's  "  Apologia 

Also.at  the  same  date,  in  Thomas  Dempster's  pro  Hibernia,"  cap.  iv.,  p.  42. 
"  Menologium  Scoticum  "  are  these  words  :  '4  See  "  Circle  of  the  Seasons/'  p.  185. 

"  Oostkerkae  Guthagoni    confessoris,    regis  '5  See  Mirseus*  "  Fasti  Belgici  et  Burgun- 

filii,  qui  divino  amore   tactus,  regnum  terre-  dici,"  p.  364. 

num  sprevit,  ut  cceleste  obtineret  B.K.  ML."  l6  See    Bishop     Challenor's    "Britannia 

— Ibid.,  p.  204.  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  8. 

"  A   learned  nobleman  and   toparch   of  t?  Printed  a.d.  1509. 


July  3.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  43 


for  the  veneration  of  the  faithful.  Formerly,  his  feast  was  kept  there  with 
great  solemnity,  and  on  it  there  was  an  obligation  for  hearing  Mass.  This, 
however,  had  been  abrogated,  yet  a  proper  office  for  a  Confessor  not  a  Pontiff 
had  been  recited,  and  he  was  invoked  as  a  minor  patron  of  that  place.  The 
feast  of  this  saint  is  set  down  at  the  3rd  of  July,  in  the  enlarged  edition  of 
Usuard's  Marty  rology;  also,  in  a  Manuscript  Catalogue  of  the  Saints  of  Scot- 
land;  as  likewise,  in  the  Breviary  of  Aberdeen. x?  John  Wilson,  in  his 
"  Martyrologium  Anglicanum,"  sets  him  down  as  an  Irishman,  at  this  day. 
The  name  of  Guthagon  occurs,  at  this  date,  in  the  anonymous  Catalogue, 
published  by  O'Sullevan  Beare,  as  Guthagonius.  Molanus  and  Henry  Fitz- 
simon  set  him  down,  as  Guthagonus,  Rex  et  Confessor,  at  the  3rd  July.18 
Again,  a  feast  has  been  assigned  to  him,  at  the  1st  of  October.  This  appears 
as  having  reference  to  the  Translation  of  his  Relics. 


Article  III. — St.  Cilline  or  Cillen,  Droicteach,  Abbot  of  Iona, 
Scotland.  {Eighth  Century.']  Among  a  long  line  of  illustrious  abbots  who 
presided  over  Iona,  the  present  holy  man  is  classed.  In  the  Martyrology  of 
Tallagh,1  at  the  3rd  of  July,  the  simply  entry  of  Cilline,  Abb.  Iae,  occurs.  He 
is  noted  in  the  Martyrology  of  Marianus  O'Gorman,  at  the  3rd  of  July.2  At 
this  date,  the  Bollandistss  have  noticed  him,  also,  on  the  foregoing  authority 
and  on  that  of  Sirinus.  Some  notices  of  him  occur,  in  the  work  of  Bishop 
Forbes/  This  distinguished  saint  derived  his  origin  from  the  race  of  Conall 
Cremthainne,  son  to  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  of  the  southern  Hy-Neill. 
This  saint's  pedigree  is  thus  given  in  the  Naemhsenchas.  His  father's  name 
was  Dicolla,  son  of  Cilline,  son  to  Amalgadh,  son  of  Feradhaigh,  son  to  Feic,* 
son  of  Cerbaill,  who  was  son  to  the  aforesaid  Conall  Cremthainne.6  He  was 
born  in  Ireland,  probably  towards  the  close  of  the  seventh  century.  The 
epithet,  suffixed  to  his  original  name  Cilline,  and  which  was  Droicteach,  sig- 
nifying "Bridge-maker,"  has  reference  apparently  to  work  of  that  kind  on  which 
he  had  been  engaged,  previous  to  his  leaving  Ireland  for  Scotland.  It  is 
likely,  that  he  felt  a  religious  inspiration  to  join  the  Columban  institute  in 
Iona,  and  there,  too,  it  would  seem,  that  he  chose  to  live  as  an  ancho- 
rite,? according  to  the  custom  of  those  monks,  who  desired  to  observe  a  very 
strict  discipline.  His  virtues  were  so  highly  esteemed  by  that  community, 
after  the  death  of  St.  Cilline  Fada,  or  the  Tall  Abbot  of  Iona,  whick  took 
place,  a.d.  726,  Cilline  Droicteach  was  selected  as  his  immediate  successor.8 
Meanwhile,  Feidhlimid  or  Failbhe  seems  to  have  been  elected  Abbot  of  Iona 
in  the  year  722,  nor  do  we  find  that  he  ceased  to  enjoy  that  title,  during  the 
administration  of  Faelcu,9  of  Cillene  Fada,10  and  of  Cilline  Droicteach,  until 
he  departed  this  life  at  the  very  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven  years,  com- 


18   See     O'Sullevan     Beare's    "Historia  baill,  King  of  Ireland,  who  reigned  21  years, 

Catholica  Iberniae  Compendium,"  tomus  i.,  and  who  died  a.d.  565. 

lib.  iv.,  cap.  xi.,  xii.,  pp.  50,  54.  6  According  to  the  Leabhar  Lecain,  in  the 

Article  hi. — *   Edited    by    Rev.  Dr.  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  ^  In  the   Annals   of  Tighernach  and  of 

2  Thus  :  "  Kellenus  cognomento  Droich-  Ulster,  he  is  only  styled  ancorita. 

theach,  virgo,  miles  egregius."  8  In  a  gloss  on  his  name,  in  the  Calendar 

3  See    "Acta     Sanctorum,"    tomus    i.,  of    Marianus  O'Gorman,   he    is    expressly 
Julii  iii.      Among  the  pretermitted   saints,  styled  -Abb  1^e  ColAim  cible. 

p.  631.  9  See   an  account  of  him,  in  the  Fourth 

4  See    "  Kalendars  of  Scottish   Saints,"  Volume  of  this  work,  at  April  3rd,  Art.  iv. 
p.  301.  I0  For  a  notice  of  him,  see  ibid.,  at  April 


5  He  was  brother  to  Diannait  Mac  Cer-       14th,  Art.  iii. 


44  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  3. 


pleted  in  759,  and  during  the  administratorship  of  Slebhine.  Whether 
Feidhlimid  or  Failbhe  "  had  been  the  principal  or  only  a  coadjutor  Abbot 
over  Iona  cannot  be  gleaned  with  any  degree  of  distinctness  from  the  Irish 
Annals.12  It  is  thought,  that  owing  to  the  circumstance  of  Cilline  Droicteach 
having  chosen  the  rigid  rule  of  an  anchorite's  state,  the  active  duties  of  his 
presidency,  over  the  monastic  institute  of  Iona,  had  been  in  a  great  measure 
discharged  by  his  coadjutor,  Fedhlimid.  He  continued  alive,  during  the  pre- 
sidency of  Cilline  Droicteach.  The  present  hoiy  man  brought  to  Erin  that 
shrine  of  the  many  relics,^  which  Adamnan  had  collected,  to  make  peace 
and  friendship  between  the  Cinel-Conaill  and  the  Cinel-Eoghain.  This 
appears  to  have  occurred  in  the  year  727.  The  Relics  collected  by  Adamnan 
were  returned  to  Iona  in  730.  The  present  saint,  called  Cilleine  Droctigh, 
anchorite  of  la,  died  on  the  3rd  of  July,  a.d.  747. I4  Other  accounts  have 
a.d.  751  Js  and  752. l6  He  is  reputed  to  have  been  the  fourteenth  abbot  of 
Iona,  commencing  with  the  great  founder,  St.  Columkille.1?  We  have  him 
recorded,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,18  at  this  same  date,  as  Cillen 
Droichtech,  Abbot  of  la  Colum  Cille. 


Article  IV. — St.  Tirechan,  Bishop.  {Seventh  Century^  It  is  much 
to  be  regretted,  that  we  know  very  little  relating  to  the  personal  history  of  the 
present  distinguished  bishop,  so  much  regarded  in  his  day,  and  who  was 
remarkable,  doubtless,  for  his  holiness  of  life,  as  for  his  proficiency  in  learn- 
ing. Being  one  of  St.  Patrick's  early  biographers  should  alone  give  him  a 
special  claim  on  our  veneration.  Marianus  O'Gorman  has  an  entry  of  Tire- 
chan, at  the  3rd  of  July,  in  his  Calendar.  It  may  be  supposed,  that  Tirechan 
had  been  a  native  of  Cashel  or  of  its  vicinity,  if  he  is  to  be  confounded  with  a 
Tirechan  who  had  gone  to  Rome,  and  who  at  the  entreaty  of  his  mother  was 
recalled,  at  a  time  when  St.  Fechin,  Abbot  of  Fore,  had  visited  that  city,  over 
which  Moenach  then  ruled.1  Tirechan  tells  us  himself,2  that  he  was  the  dis- 
ciple of  St.  Ultan,  who  wrote  the  Acts  of  St.  Patrick.  He  was  bishop  of  Ard- 
brecain,  and  he  died  a.d.  665.3  In  the  Book  of  Armagh  are  found  Latin 
annotations  on  the  Life  of  St.  Patrick  by  Tirechan,4  and  which  throw  some 
light  on  the  source  whence  his  narrative  had  been  drawn.5     Like  his  master 


"  He  seems  to  have  been   elected,  when  l6  According   to   the   Annals    of  Tiger- 

nbout  fifty  years  old,  and  it  may  be,  that  in-  nach. 

firmity  or  necessity  obliged  him  to  have  an  '?  See  Rev.  William  Reeves'  Adamnan's 

assistant.  "  Life  of  St.  Columba,"  Additional  Notes  O, 

12  See  Rev.  Dr.  Reeves'  Adamnan's  "Life  pp.  382  to  385. 

ofSt.  Columba,"  Additional  Notes  O,  pp.  l8  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

38210386.  184,  185. 

13  This  is  the  beginning  of  a  poem  which  Article  IV.  —  '  See  Colgan's  "  Acta 
Adamnan  composed,  on  placing  the  bag,  Sanctorum  Hibernise,"  xx.  Januarii,  Vita 
containing  those  reliquaries,  on  the  back  of  Secunda  S.  Fechini,  cap.  xiv.,  pp.  134, 
Cillen  : —  135. 

2  See  Very  Rev.  James  Henthorn  Todd's 

"  O  youth,  illustrious  is  "  St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland,"  chap,  iii., 

The  bag  which   thou  takest  on  thy  p.  444. 

back,"  &c.  3  iJis  feast  occurs,  at  the  4th  of  Septem- 
ber. 

M  See   Colgan's  "Trias    Thaumaturga,"  4  See  Professor  Eugene  O'Curry's  "  Lec- 

Quinta   Appendix    ad   Acta    S.   Columlxe,  tines     on     the    Manuscript     Materials     of 

cap.  ii.,  sect,  v.,  p.   502.  Ancient  Irish  History,"  Lect.  xvi.,  p.  347. 

15  The  "  Annals  of  Ulster  "  have  dated  it,  5Atfol.  ga,  we  find  there  the  following 

at  this  year.  passage  :  "  Tirechan  Episcopus  hec  scripsit 


July  3.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


45 


Ultan,  this  saint  wrote  the  Acts  of  St.  Patrick,  in  two  books.6  We  are  informed 
in  these,  that  he  was  a  disciple  of  that  holy  Bishop,  from  whose  lips  or  from 
whose  book,  he  had  composed  his  own  work.  He  also  tells  us  in  it,  that  he 
was  himself  a  bishop,  but  he  does  not  state  where  his  See  had  been.  A  copy 
of  this  Life  of  St.  Patrick  by  Tirechan  is  extant  in  the  Leabhar  Arda  Macha, 
or  the  Book  of  Armagh. 7  This  is  quoted  by  Dr.  Jeoffry  Keating.8  It  has 
lately  engaged  the  attention  of  an  able  and  a  learned  editor,9  so  that  the  read- 
ing public  shall  soon  have  an  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  its 
contents.10  These  Acts  were  in  possession  of  the  learned  Archbishop  Ussher, 
who  frequently  quotes  from  them,  in  his  valuable  historic  work,  "  De  Primor- 
diis  Ecclesiarum  Britannicarum."11  Extracts  from  them  have  also  been 
reproduced,  by  the  learned  hagiologist,  Father  John  Colgan.12  This  interest- 
ing ancient  memoir  by  Tirechan  throws  very  considerable  light  on  the  early 
ecclesiastical  history  of  Ireland,  as  also  on  the  biography  of  the  Irish  Apostle. -3 
According  to  the  chronology  of  Tirechan,1*  he  places  the  death  of  St.  Patrick, 
at  a.d.  436  from  the  Passion,  or  a.d.  469  from  the  Nativity  of  Christ.  He 
states,  likewise,  that  King  Loiguire  reigned  two  or  five  years  after  the  Irish 
Apostle's  decease;  while  he  supposes  the  total  duration  of  that  reign,  to  have 
been  thirty-six  years.15  A  conjecture  has  been  offered,16  that  the  present  holy 
man  complied  with  a  request  made  by  St.  Fechin,J7  Abbot  of  Fore,  to  visit 
his  mother.  This  seems  to  come  within  the  range  of  possibility.  The  times 
agree  very  well.  Thus,  Ultan  died  a.d.  655,  and  he  was  contemporary  with 
St.  Fechin,  who  departed  this  life,  on  the  20th  of  January,  a.d.  664.18  The 
present  saint  was  a  bishop,  and  he  is  said  to  have  ruled10  over  the  church  of 
Ardbrecain.  He  is  thought  to  have  flourished,  about  the  middle  of  the 
seventh  century.20  On  the  3rd  of  July,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,21 
appears  within  brackets  the  name  of  Tirechan.32 


ex  ore  vel  libro  Ultani  episcopi,  cujus  ipse 
alumpnus  vel  discipulus  fait." — Ibid.,  Ap- 
pendix, No.  cvi.,  pp.  607,  608. 

6  See  Sir  James  Ware,  "  De  Scriptoribus 
Hibernise,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  iii.,  p.  23. 

7  This  is  generally  believed  to  be  as  old  as 
807  ;  but,  Eugene  O'Curry  deems  it  to  be 
older  than  the  year  727.  See  "  Lectures  on 
the  Manuscript  Materials  of  Ancient  Irish 
History,"  Lect.  xvi.,  p.  343. 

8  In  his  "  General  History  of  Ireland." 

9  The  Rev.  Father  Edmund  Hogan,  S.J. 
See  "  Vita  Sancti  Patricii  Hibernorum 
Apostoli,  Auctore  Muirchu  Maccumachteni 
et  Tirechani  Collectanea  de  S.  Patricio." 
The  portion  already  published  has  appeared, 
in  the  "  Analecta  Bollandiana,"  tomus  i., 
Fasc.  iv.  Edited  by  Fathers  Carolus  de 
Smedt,  Gulielmus  Van  Hooff  and  Josephus 
de  Backer.  Paris  and  Bruxelles,  1882, 
royal  8vo. 

10  This  is  the  more  to  be  desired,  as  Sir 
William  Betham  has  very  inaccurately 
printed  the  Book  of  Armagh,  in  his  "  Irish 
Antiquarian  Researches,"  part  ii.  Dublin, 
1827,  8vo.  It  is  so  full  of  errors  as  to  be 
quite  useless.  See  Rev.  Dr.  Todd's  "St. 
Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland,"  p.  150,  n.  I. 
Also  William  F.  Skene's  "  Celtic  Scot- 
land," vol.  ii.,  p.  14,  n.  22. 


11  See  cap.  xvii.,  pp.  829,  835,  848,  853, 
887,  899.     Dublin  edition,  A.D.  1639,  4to. 

12  See  "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Appendix 
Secundaad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  pp.  196,  197. 

13  Thus  he  states  :  "  Inverii  quatuor  no- 
mina  in  libro  scripta  Patricio  apud  Ultanum 
episcopum  Conchuburnensium,  Sanctus  Ma- 
gonus  qui  est  clarus,  succetus  qui  est  [deus 
belli],  Patricius,  Cothirthiacus  quia  servivit 
iiii  domibus  magorum,  et  empsit  ilium  unus 
ex  eis  cui  nomen  erat  Miliuc  Maccuboin 
magus. 

14  In  the  Book  of  Armagh,  fol.  9  a,  b. 

15  See  Very  Rev.  Dr.  James  Henthorn 
Todd's  "St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland," 
chap,  ii.,  p.  395. 

16  By  Colgan. 

17  See  his  Life  in  the  First  Volume  of 
this  work,  at  January  20th,  Art.  ii. 

18  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "  Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  276,  277. 

19  As  supposed  by  Colgan. 

20  See  Colgan's  "Trias  Thaumaturga," 
Quarta  Appendix  ad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  pars, 
iii.,  pp.  217,  218. 

21  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 
186,  187. 

22  A  note  by  Dr.  Todd  says*  at  this  inser- 
tion of  the  name,  Tirechan  :  "  Added  by  the 
more  recent  hand." 


46  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  3. 


Article  V. — St.  Dartinne  or  Tartinna,  of  Druimard,  or  of 
Cill-aird,  in  Ui-Garrchon,  County  of  Wicklow.  We  read  in  the 
published  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  that  a  festival  was  celebrated  at  the  3rd 
of  July,  in  honour  of  Dartinne,  Virgin.  To  her  is  probably  applied  the 
following  comment,  which  closely  follows :  "  inghen  Guaire,  *'.<?.,  Cille  aird  in 
h  Ercain."  In  the  M  Feilire"2  of  St.  ^Engus,  there  is  a  commemoration  of 
Dartinne's  excellent  feast,  at  the  3rd  of  July.  In  a  gloss, 3  she  is  said  to  have 
been  a  virgin,  and  to  have  been  of  Cill  Airnd  in  Ui-Garrchon  in  Leinster. 
From  this  we  are  to  infer,  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  Guaire — whoever  he 
was — and  that  the  place  she  occupied  was  named  Cill  Aird,  meaning  the 
*  church  on  the  height,"  in  the  territory  of  Ui  Ercon,  otherwise  Ui  Garchon.* 
This  territory  was  situated  along  the  eastern  sea-shore,s  in  the  centre  of  the 
present  county  of  Wicklow,  and  it  seems  to  have  extended  over  the  moun- 
tains towards  the  western  boundary.  Within  it  rises  Sliabh  Gadoe,  also  called 
Church  Mountain,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  ruined  walls  of  an  oblong  church, 
on  the  northern  and  widest  part  of  the  area,  are  there  to  be  found.  The 
greatest  length  of  this  building  was  thirty-six  feet.  This  appears  to  have  been 
surrounded  by  a  rude  stone  enclosure,  approaching  to  an  oval  form,  the 
extreme  length  being  117  feet,  and  the  width  101.6  In  the  most  elevated 
part,  the  breast-work  was  twelve  feet  in  height,  and  within  it  is  a  holy  well, 
still  frequented  by  pilgrims.?  The  foregoing  conclusion  as  to  locality  is  fairly 
warranted  from  the  statement,  that  St.  Patrick  when  he  left  Naas  went  into 
Hy-Garchon,  and  soon  afterwards  he  passed  from  it  to  the  plain  of  the  Liffey.8 
Here  too  has  been  placed  9  one  of  the  Palladian  churches  at  Donard,  variously 
called  Domnach  Arda,  Domnach  Ardec,  and  Domnach  Airte,  or  "  the  Church 
of  the  High  Place,"  as  also  Domnach  Ardacha,  "  the  Church  of  the  High 
Field."10  This  is  now  the  village  of  Donard,11  in  the  barony  of  Lower  Talbots- 
town."  On  this  site  and  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  there  are  several 
vestiges'pf  pagan  and  of  Christian  habitations.  Here,  it  is  probable,  the  church 
known  as  Cill-Aird  was  located,  and  it  may  be  regarded  as  identical  with  that 
very  ancient  and  curious  old  ruin,  which  has  so  remarkable  an  elevation  on 
the  top  of  Sliebh  Gadoe,x3  otherwise  called  Church  Mountain,  near  Donard. 


Article    v. —  *   Edited    by    Rev.    Dr.  6  A  view  and  plan  of  this  ancient  work 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  may  be  found  in  Gough's  Camden's  **  Bri- 

a  In  the  "Leabhar  Breac"  copy  the  fol-  tannia,"  vol.  iii. 
lowing  stanza,  translated   by   Dr.  Whitley  7  See  J.  N.  Brewer's  "Beauties  of  Ire- 
Stokes,  occurs  : —  land,"  vol.  i.,  County  of  Wicklow,  p.  339. 

8  See  Colgan's    "Trias    Thaumaturga," 

rrUpcpA  Cirtiomf  Septima  Vita  S.  Patricii,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xvii., 

Crvifc  rnhAc&ch  mbitbe  xviii.,  p.  152. 

Camnbpech  Comaif  Ailbe  '  By  Rev.  John  Francis  Shearman.     See 

£eil  T)i5|\Aif  "Oarvcinrie.  "  Loca  Patriciana,"  No.  iii.,  p.  28. 

10  See  Very  Rev.  James  Henthorn  Todd's 

"  Cyrion's  martyrdom,  no  paltry  prayer  to  "St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland,"  chap,  i., 

Christ :    Thomas'    translation   hear    thou  :  p.  295,  n.  3. 

Dairtinne's  excellent  feast." — "Transactions  "  This  town  and  townland,  in  the  parish 

of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manu-  so  named,  are  described  on  the  "Ordnance 

script  Series,  vol.  i.,  parti.    On  the  Calen-  Survey  Townland  Maps  for  the  County  of 

dar  of  Oengus,  p.  cix.  Wicklow,"  sheets  15,  21. 

3  See  ibid.,  p.  cxv.  "  See  an  account   of  this  place  in   the 

4  This  name  it  seems  to  have  taken  from  "Parliamentary  Gazetteer  of  Ireland,  "vol.  ii., 
Garchon,  who  was  father  to  its  ruler  Nathi,  pp.  32,  33. 

who  lived  in  the  time  of  St.  Palladius  and  I3  For  an  account  of  this  place,  the  reader 

of  St.  Patrick.  is  referred  to  Leitch  RitcluVs  "  Ireland,  Pic- 

s  See    Colgan's    "Trias   Thaumaturga,"  turesque   and    Romantic,"  chap,   xiv.,  pp. 

Secunda  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiv.,   xxv„  259,  260. 
p,  13,  and  nn.  33,  34,  35,  p.  18.  **  See  the  account  of  Mr.  Beauford,  in 


July  3.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  47 


A  curious  local  tradition  prevailed,1*  that  the  pile  of  stones  collected  on  Slieve 
Gadoe  in  the  twelfth  century  had  been  designed  to  build  a  church,  and  also 
to  pave  a  way  over  this  mountain  from  old  Kilcullen  in  the  county  of  Kil- 
dare,  to  Glendalough  in  the  county  of  Wicklow;  part  of  this  road,  having  been 
executed  from  Glendalough  to  Glendassan  for  some  miles  along  the  valley, 
still  remains  perfect ;  however,  for  some  reason,  the  work  was  discontinued, 
while  to  this  day,  the  materials  for  the  church  remain  in  their  pristine  state. 
The  district  of  Hy  Garchon  is  said  to  have  been  in  the  territory  of  Forthuatha, 
which  it  is  supposed  was  another  name  for  Ui  Mail,  in  the  barony  of  Upper 
Talbotstown,  and  county  of  Wicklow.1*  In  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,16 
at  this  same  date,  her  name  is  entered,  Tartinna,  of  Cill  aird,  in  Ui  Garrchon, 
in  Leinster.1? 


Article  VI. — St.  Maelmuire  or  Marianus  Ua  Gormain,  better 
known  as  Marianus  O'Gorman,  the  Irish  Martyrologist,  Abbot  of 
Knock,  near  Lughmhagh,  now  Louth,  County  of  Louth.  [Twelfth 
Century.']  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted,  while  the  present  learned  and 
holy  man  has  conferred  lasting  and  deserved  fame  on  those  who  preceded 
him,  that  posterity  should  have  known  so  little  regarding  his  own  personal 
history.  In  the  Irish  language,  the  name  conferred  upon  him  was  Maelmuire, 
which  in  English  may  be  rendered  "  the  servant  of  Mary."  By  Sir  James 
Ware,1  he  is  called  Murrius  O'Gorman.  Where  he  was  born  or  where  he  had 
been  educated  is  involved  in  mystery ;  yet,  it  seems  probable  enough,  that 
he  had  become  a  religious  in  the  monastic  establishment,  which  had  flourished 
at  Lughmagh,  from  the  times  of  St.  Patrick 2  and  St.  Mochta.3  The  latter  is 
regarded  as  the  special  patron  of  Louth.  Marianus  O'Gorman  was  doubtless 
greatly  distinguished  among  his  contemporaries,  and  he  is  said  to  have  been 
Abbot  of  Knock,  or  Cnoc-na-Sengan,*  near  Louth.  It  is  now  called  Knock 
Abbey,  and  the  old  Irish-speaking  people  termed  it  Teampull  a  Cnuic ;  while 
unbaptized  children  had  been  buried  on  this  hill,  even  when  under  cultiva- 
tion. This  place — formerly  called  Lughmadh  and  Lughbadh — is  now  known 
as  Louth,  in  the  county  of  Louth.  Knock  na  Seangan  is  said  to  have  been 
endowed  and  founded  for  Augustinian  Canons,*  by  Donough  O'Carroll, 
Prince  of  Oriel,  and  by  Edan  O'Kelly  or  O'Killedy,  Bishop  of  Clogher.6  A 
small  fragment  of  the  walls  remained  in  1836.7  Louth  still  exhibits  various 
ancient  remains  \  and  among  these  are  curiously  fortified  mounds,  which  are 
so  frequently  met  with,  especially  in  that  part  of  Ireland.  The  Fairy  Mount  8 
and  the  Mount  of  Castle  Ring  are  specimens  of  this  class.  They  were  conical  in 
shape,  and  had  concentric  circumvallations,  evidently  intended  for  defensive 

Gough's  Camden's  "  Britannia,"  vol.  iii.  4  It  is  said  to  bear  the  English  signification 

'5  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "  Leabhar  na  g  "Pismires'  Hill,"   and  even  it  has  been  so 

Ceart,  or  Book  of  Rights,"  n.  (d),  p.  207.  called  by  the  neighbouring  people. 

16  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  5  See  Sir  James  Ware,   "De  Hibernia  et 

186,  187.  Antiquitatibus  ejus,"  cap.  xxvi. 

J7  See,  also,   Colgan's  "  Acta  Sanctorum  6  See    Colgan's     "Trias    Thaumaturga," 

Hibernke,"  xxviii.   Februarii.  Vita  S.  Aidi  p.  305. 

Epis.  et  Confessoris,  n.  15,  p.  422.  7  See  "Letters  containing  Information  re- 

Article  vi. — "    See    "  De  Scriptoribus  lative  to  the  Antiquities  of  County  of  Louth, 

Hibernke,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  viii.,  p.  56.  collected  during  the  Progress  of  the  Ord- 

a  See  the  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  in  the  Third  nance  Survey  in  1835,  1836."       Letter  of 

Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  17th  of  March,  Patrick   O'Keefe,    dated  Louth,    February 

Art.  i.  7th,  1836,  pp.  232,  233. 

3   His    festival   occurs,  on   the    19th    of  8  The  accompanying  illustration,  drawn 

August.  on  the  wood  by  William  F.  Wakeman,  has 


48 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  3. 


purposes.9  According  to  our  native  records,  here  stood  a  religious  establish- 
ment, from  a  remote  period,  and  its  superiors  are  sometimes  known  as 
comorbans  of  St.  Patrick  or  of  St.  Mochta.10  About  the  year  1167,  we  are 
informed,  that  Marianus  O'Gorman  wrote  a  Martyrology,  in  most  elegant 
Irish  verse,  during  the  time  of  Gelasius,  Archbishop  of  Armagh.  Sir  James 
Ware"  states,  that  the  Martyrology  of  O'Gorman  was  published  in  1171. 
However,  it  must  have  appeared  later,  since  we  find  in  it  the  name  of  St. 


The  Fairy  Mount,  at  Louth. 

Gilda-Machaibeo,  who  died  a.d.  i  i  74."  Marianus  speaks  of  him  as  a  tower 
of  piety  and  of  meekness,  an  ark  of  wisdom  and  of  science,1^  with  similar 
eulogistic  epithets.  He  extracted  a  great  part  of  his  own  Calendar  from  the 
Martyrology  of  Tallagh,  usually  called  that  of  ^Engus;1^  however,  his  own  is  not 
to  be  regarded,  as  a  mere  supplement  to  that  Calendar.^  Marianus  O'Gorman 
does  not  confine  himself  to  the  principal  saints  of  Ireland  alone ;  but,  he  takes 
in  promiscuously  those  of  other  countries.  This  Martyrology  existed  in  the 
time  of  Colgan,  and  it  was  held  in  universal  esteem,  owing  to  the  great 
beauty  of  its  style  and  the  fidelity  of  its  performance.16  The  text  of  this 
Martyrology  is  yet  preserved,  at  Bruxelles  ;x?  but,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  that 


been  engraved  by  Mrs.  Millard. 

»  In  Thomas  Wright's  u  Louthiana," 
book  i.,  plates  xii.,  xiii.,  the  elevations  and 
ground-plan  of  those  objects  mentioned  in 
the  text  may  be  seen,  as  they  existed  in  1758. 

10  In  our  Irish  Annals. 

"  See  "De  Scriptoribus  Hibernise," 
lib.  i.,  cap.  viii.,  p.  56. 

12  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "  Ecclesiastics i 
History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  iv.,  chap,  xxx., 
sect,  ii.,  p.  251,  n.  12,  p.  252,  ibid. 

13  See  ibid.,  chap,  xxix.,  sect,  vi.,  p.  220, 
and  n.  48,  p.  222. 

14  This  is  to  be  collected  from  the  state- 
ment of  an  old  scholiast,  in  a  preface  to  the 


Martyrology  itself.  See  Colgan's  "Acta 
Sanctorum  Hibernicc,"  i.  Januarii,  Vita  S. 
Fanchete,  sect,  iv.,  p.  5. 

15  See  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  ii.,  "  Writers  of 
Ireland,"  booki.,  chap,  ix.,  p.  71. 

16  See  Colgan's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber- 
nise,"  i.  Januarii.  Vita  S.  Fanchea?,  sect,  iv., 

P-  5- 

17  In  the  Burgundian  Library.  Formerly 
this  copy  belonged  to  the  Franciscans. 

18  See  "  Recherches  sur  les  Calend tiers 
Ecclesiastiques,"  par  le  R.  P.  Victor  de 
Buck,  S.J.,  sect,  viii.,  p.  19.  This  posthu- 
mous publication  appeared  at  Bruxelles, 
1877,  8>o. 


July  3.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  49 


as  yet,  this  valuable  national  and  ecclesiastic;)]  record  has  not  been  pub- 
lished.18 Our  annalists  trace  a  long  line  of  bishops,  abbots  or  priors,  in 
connexion  with  Louth,  down  to  the  sixteenth  century,  when  its  possessions 
were  sequestrated. T9  In  the  year  of  Christ,  1181,  the  death  of  Mulmurry 
O'Dunan,  Abbot  of  Cnoc-na-Seangan  (Louth)  died.20  This  Abbot  is  thought 
to  have  been  identical  with  the  celebrated  Marianus  O'Gorman  ;  because,  as 
Colgan  states,  it  should  appear  from  a  prologue  prefixed  to  his  Martyrology, 
that  Marianus  was  superior  over  this  establishment  in  the  year  1172.21 
Although  it  seems  not  an  easy  matter  to  reconcile  the  apparent  difference  of 
names  ;  yet,  Dr.  Lanigan  deems  Colgan's  conjecture  most  probable.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,22  veneration  was  given,  on  the  3rd  of 
July,  to  Maelmuire  33  Ua  Gormain,  Abbot  of  Lughmhagh. 


Article  VII. — St.  Ultan.  We  meet  with  the  simple  entry  Ultan,  in 
the  Martyrologies  of  Tallagh  '  and  of.  Donegal,2  at  the  3rd  of  July.  The 
Bollandists,  3  on  the  authority  of  Sirinus,  notice  Ultanus,  on  this  day. 


Article  VIII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Kenuinus,  Abbot,  in  Ireland. 
On  the  authority  of  Ferrarius,1  who  cites  the  Martyrology  of  Petrus  Canisius 
at  this  date,  the  Bollandists 2  enter  "  Kenuinus  abbas  in  Hibernia,"  but  they 
point  out,  that  Ferrarius  has  incorrectly  entered  both  at  the  3rd  of  June  and 
at  the  3rd  of  July  the  feast  of  a  saint,  who  was  no  other  than  Kewinus  or 
Keivinus,  otherwise  Coemginus,  Abbot  of  Glendalough.  His  festival  belongs 
only  to  the  3rd  of  June. 3 


Article  IX. — St.  Colman.     A  St.  Colman  receives  insertion,  at  the  3rd 
of  July,  in  the  published  Martyrology  of  Tallagh.1 


Article  X. — Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Rumold,  Martyr,  and 
Patron  of  Mechlin,  Belgium.  The  Bollandists1  remark,  that  some 
Kalendars — of  little  authority  however — place  a  festival  for  St.  Rumold, 
Bishop  and  Martyr,  at  the  3rd  of  July.  Yet,  in  Ireland,  it  is  the  date  fixed 
for  his  Office,  as  a  Duplex  Majus.  His  Life  will  be  found  in  the  present 
volume,  at  the  1st  of  July,  the  chief  festival  for  this  saint. 


Article  XL — St.  Breacnat,  Virgin.  It  is  mentioned  in  the  Martyrology 
of  Donegal,1  that  veneration  was  given  at  the  3rd  of  July  to  Breacnat,  a 

**  See  Archdall's  "  Monasticon  Hiberni-  186,  187. 
cum,"  pp.  469  to  479.  3  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii 

20  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "  Annals  of  the  iii.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  629. 
Four  Masters,"  vol.  iii.,  pp.  56,  57.  Article   viii. —  *    In  his    "  Catalogus 

31  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum  Hibernise,"  xxiv.  Generalis  Sanctorum," 
Martii,  Appendix   ad    Vitam  S.    Mochtei,  2  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii 

cap.  v.,  p.  737.  iii.     Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  629. 

21  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  3  His  Life  will  be  found,  in  the  Sixth  Vo- 
l86,  187.  lume  of  this  work,  at  that  date,  Art.  i. 

23  In  a  note,  Dr.  Todd  says  at  Maelmuire :  Article   ix. — '  Edked  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 

"  This  is  the  author  of   the  Martyrology,  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

commonly  called    Marianus,  which  is   the  Article   x. — *    See  "Acta  Sanctorum," 

Latinized  form  of  his  name."  tomus    i.,  Julii    iii.       Among   the    preter- 

Article    vii.—  x    Edited    by  Rev.  Dr.  mitted  feasts,  p.  630. 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  Article  xi. — J   Edited  by  Drs.   Todd 

*  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  and  Reeves,  pp.  186,  187. 

D 


56  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July   4. 


virgin.     The  Bollandists  a  note  this  entry,   likewise,   but  through  a  typogra- 
phical error,  they  write  "Breenada  virgine  victoriosa,"  at  this  same  date. 


Article  XII. — Feast  of  St.  Thomas'  Translation.  In  the  early 
Irish  Church,  there  was  a  festival  at  the  3rd  of  July,  to  commemorate  the 
Translation  of  St.  Thomas'  Relics,  as  we  learn  from  the  "Feilire"  of  St. 
-^Engus.1  A  note  is  appended,2  which  informs  us,  that  they  had  been  brought 
from  the  east,  or  from  India  to  Arabia  or  to  Edessa,  a  town  in  Syria.  This  is 
the  Apostle  St.  Thomas — whose  chief  feast  occurs  on  the  21st  of  December 
— but  who  is  commemorated  in  the  Coptic  and  Chaldaic  Kalendars,  on  the 
3id  of  July,  as  the  Bollandists  3  observe. 


Article  XIII. — Festival  of  St.  Cyrion,  Martyr  at  Alexandria. 
At  the  3rd  of  July,  in  the  early  Irish  Church,  the  festival  of  St.  Cyrion  was 
celebrated,  as  we  find  from  the  "  Feilire  "  of  St.  ^Engus.1  A  note  in  Latin  is 
appended,  in  the  "  Leabhar  Breac  "  copy.2  He  was  one  of  a  company  of  holy 
Martyrs  at  Alexandria,  as  the  Bollandists  3  notice  them,  at  the  present  date. 


jfourti)  jaap  of  3ulp* 


ARTICLE  I.— ST.  BOLCAN  OF  KILCOOLEY,   COUNTY  OF  ROSCOMMON. 
[PROBABLY  IN  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY.] 

WE  cannot  speak  with  much  confidence  regarding  the  present  holy  man's 
history,  although  his  place  has  been  identified.  The  name  Bolcan, 
of  Cill  Cuile,  is  inserted  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  as  having  been  vene- 
rated, at  the  4th  of  July.  It  appears,  that  his  name  and  festival  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Martyrologies  of  Marianus  O'Gorman  and  of  Charles  Maguire.2 
Indifferently  he  has  been  called  Olcan,  as  well  as  Bolcan,  by  some  writers ; 
and  Colgan  has  thus  confounded  those  names.  He  seems  to  have  been 
referred  to  the  times  of  St.  Patrick,  whose  disciple  he  is  said  to  have  been. 


9  See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    i.,  "Thus:  "  cirionis  .1.  circionis  .i.  per  con- 

Julii   iii.     Among  the   pretermitted   saints,  cisionem."— Ibid.,  p.  cxv. 

p.  631.  3  see  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii 

Article  xii. — x  See  "Transactions  of  iii.      De   Sanctis  Martyribus   Alexandrinis 

the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Tryphone,     Menelao,     Cyrione,    Euloyio, 

Series,   vol.    i.,   part  i.      On  the  Calendar  Porphoreo,  Aprico,  Chusto,  Juliano,  Eradio, 

of  Oengus.     By    Whitley    Stokes,   LL.D.,  item     Tryphone,    Oreste.     Addi     possunt 

p.  cix.  Cyrillus,    Emerion,  alter  Cyrion  et  Julius. 

■  See  ibid.,  p.  cxv.  Notitia  ex  Martyrologio  Hieronymiano,  p. 

3  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii  636. 

iii.     Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  p.  632.  Article    I.—  ■    Edited     by    Rev.    Dr. 

Article  XIII.— *  See  "Transactions  of  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

the   Royal   Irish  Academy,"    Irish   Manu-  *  The  Bollandists  quote   Father  Thomas 

script  Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.     On  the  Calen-  O'Sheerin's  Manuscripts  of  the  Irish  Saints 

dar  of  Oengus.  By  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.,  for  this  statement  in  the  text.     See  "Acta 

p.  cix.  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.     Among  the  preter- 


July  4.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


It  was  Colgan's  intention  to  have  treated  about  St.  Olcan,  at  the  4th  of  July.3 
This  is  expressed,  also,  in  his  published  work.*  The  Bollandistss  have  a 
notice  of  him,  at  this  date,  but  with  many  of  the  doubts  expressed,  and  which 
intrinsically  arise  from  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing  this  individual  saint. 
He  is  known  by  the  name  Olcan  of  Kilmormoyle,  alias  Kilmoremoy  or  Kil- 
more,  near  the  Moy.  He  is  said  to  have  been  connected  with  the  church  of 
Kilchule,  in  the  territory  of  Siolmuiredhuigh.6  This  was  a  parish  church,  in 
the  diocese  of  Elphin.?  We  are  told,  the  present  holy  man  was  a  disciple  of 
St.  Patrick,  and  that  he  was  probably  the  Oltcanus  of  Tirechan's  list.  He  was 
only  a  priest.8  But  another  account  is  given,  about  his  having  been  that  Olcan 
mentioned  in  the  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick.9  The  holy  Apostle  had  a 
disciple  Olcan,  about  whom  he  had  a  vision,  while  that  disciple  was  walking 
along  Traighe-eothuile,  with  Bronius  and  Macerca,10  the  sea-tides  and  tempest 
exposing  them  to  great  danger.  From  the  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick  we 
learn,  that  the  spot,  where  St.  Olcan  received  his  Divine  monition  to  estab- 
lish a  monastery,  was  called  Killmor  uachtair  Mhuaidhe.  This  event 
happened,  while  the  Irish  Apostle  had  been  engaged  making  his  progress 
through  the  province  of  Connaught.11  The  place,  where  St.  Olcan's  founda- 
tion had  been  commenced,  is  at  present  called  Kilmore-Moy,  a  parish  which 
extends  into  the  barony  of  Tireragh,  in  the  county  of  Sligo,  and  into  the 
barony  of  Tyrawley,  in  the  county  of  Mayo.  It  was  also  called  Lia-na-monach, 
from  the  monks,  who  dwelt  there,  while  we  are  told,  that  it  likewise  bore  the 
name  Cruimther  Monach,  or  Olcan's  church.  In  Tirechan's  list  of  St. 
Patrick's  disciples,  there  is  an  Olcan,  as  also  an  Oltcan.  Others  think,  that  this 
was  apparently  the  holy  man,  called  Volcan,  by  Jocelyn,12  and  regarding 
whom  we  find  the  following  account.  St.  Patrick  had  a  disciple,  named 
Volchanus,^  a  man  of  great  virtue,  but  specially  distinguished  by  most 
remarkable  obedience.  Being  desirous  that  his  virtue,  known  only  to  God, 
should  be  manifested  to  the  world,  the  saint,  for  the  edification  and  example 
of  others,  commanded  Volchan  to  go  and  build  a  church,  wheresoever  God 
would  vouchsafe  to  provide  him  a  place.  Without  delay,  taking  an  axe  on 
his  shoulders,  this  man  went  his  way.  Seeing  the  alacrity  and  cheerfulness  of 
his  obedience,  St.  Patrick  said  to  him :  "  Do  not  despair,  my  most  dear  Vol- 
chan, of  finding  a  place.  Wheresoever  thy  hatchet  shall  fall,  build  in  that 
place;  for  there  thou  shalt  have  increase  of  a  great  community."  After 
Volchan  had  walked  all  day  long,  and  had  engaged  in  prayer,  towards  evening, 
the  axe  slipped  from  his  shoulder.  In  that  place,  therefore,  the  obedient 
Volchan  built  a  monastery,  wherein  himself  and  many  others  lived  and  died  in 
great  perfection.14  The  foregoing  account  of  St.  Volchanus  building  his  church 
is  incorrectly  supposed,  however,  to  have  had  reference  to  that  time,  when  St. 


mitted  feasts,  p.  3.  tory  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  chap,  v.,  sect,  xii., 

3  According    to     "  Catalogus     Actuum  n.  120,  p.  256. 

Sanctorum  quse  MS.  habentur,  ordine  Men-  9  See   Colgan's   "Trias    Thaumaturga," 

sium  et  Dierum."  SeptimaVitaS.Patricii,lib.ii.,cap.xlii.,p.  135. 

4  See  "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Quinta  Ap-  I0  See  Colgan's  "Trias  Thaumaturga," 
pendix  ad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiii.,  Septima  Vita  S.  Patricii,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xlii., 
p.  267.  p.  135. 

5  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  "  See  Miss  Mary  F.  Cusack's  "Life  of  St. 
Juliiiv.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  3.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland,"  Irish  Tripar- 

6  See  Colgan's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber-  tite  Life,  translated  by  William  M.  Hennessy, 
nioe,"   xx.    Februarii,  Vita   S.    Olcani  seu  M. R.I.  A.,  part  ii.,  p.  426. 

Bolcani,  cap.  ix.,  p.  377,  and  n.  24,  p.  378.  12  See    Colgan's    Trias     Thaumaturga," 

1  See   Archdall's   "  Monasticon  Hiberni-  Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  cxli.,  p.  96. 

cum,"  p.  612.  ,3  Thus  is  he  called  by  Jocelyn. 

*  See  Dr.  Lanigan's  "  Ecclesiastical  His-  l4  See  ibid.,  Sexta  Vita  S.   Patricii,  cap. 


5  2  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [Jul*  4. 


Patrick  travelled  through  the  northern  parts  of  Ireland.  Again,  Volchanus  is 
thought I5  to  be  the  same  as  Olcan,  Bishop  of  Annoy,16  or  Bolcan,1?  about 
whom  so  many  other  romantic  incidents  are  related,  by  Jocelyn,18  and,  also, 
by  the  authors  of  the  Tripartite  Lives  of  St.  Patrick.1^  After  a  holy  life,  St. 
Olchan  or  Bolcan,  renowned  for  his  miracles  as  well  as  for  his  virtues,  rested 
in  the  Lord,  and  he  was  buried  at  his  place,  now  known  as  Kihnore,  near  the 
River  Moy.  His  relics  remain  at  Kilmore,  that  is,  "  the  great  cell,"  where 
his  monastery  stood.20  In  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal 2I  is  entered  Bolcan, 
of  Cill  Cuile,  at  this  date.  The  Circle  of  the  Seasons 2a  registers,  at  the  4th 
of  July,  St.  Bolcan,  Abbot. 


Article  II. — St.  Finbarr  or  Fionubharr,  Abbot  of  Inis  Doimhle, 
County  of  Wexford.  [Sixth  Century.]  This  holy  man  must  have 
flourished  in  the  early  ages  of  the  Irish  Church,  and  on  the  father's  side  he 
descended  through  a  very  illustrious  line,  from  Feidhlimidh  Rechtmar,  or  the 
Law-giver,  King  of  Ireland.1  From  the  latter,  he  was  twelve  generations 
in  immediate  succession.2  This  brings  him  one  generation  later  than  his 
illustrious  relative  St.  Brigid,3  patroness  of  Ireland.  He  was  son  of  Dalian, 
son  to  Liathan,  son  to  Briun,  son  of  Eoghan,  son  of  Brechin,  son  of  Artur 
Corb.4  He  was  brother  to  the  sons  of  Aedh,  of  Ath-cliath.  In  the  "  Feilire  "5 
of  St.  ^Engus,  Findbarr  of  Inis  Teimle  is  commemorated,  on  the  4th  of  July. 
There  is  a  gloss,  likewise,  which  states,  that  he  belonged  to  the  land  of  LJi 
Cennselaig,  and  that  he  lived  among  the  Desi.  Another  gloss  adds,  that 
Inis  Teimle  has  been  derived  from  darkness,  because  such  was  the  Isle,  until 
the  two  sons  of  Aed  of  Ath  Cliath,  who  were  Findbarr  and  Barrfind,  went 
thither.6  In  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh  i  at  the  4th  of  July,  we  find  entered 
the  name  of  Finbarr,  Abbot  of  Innse  Domle.  Marianus  O'Gorman  commemo- 
rates him,  at  this  same  date.  The  Rev.  Alban  Butler8  makes  him  the  founder 

cxli.,  p.  96.  naomh  Innsi  Fail." 

J5By  Father  John  Colgan.  3  See  her  Life,  in  the  Second  Volume  of 

16  See  an  account  of  him,   in  the  Second  this  work,  at  February  1st,  Art.  i.,  chap.  i. 
Volume  of   this  work,    at  the  20th  of  Feb-  *  See   Colgan 's    "Trias  Thaunr.Uurga," 
ruary,  Art.  ii.  Appendix  Quarta  ad  Acta  S.  Brigidce,  cap. 

17  Colgan  supplies  his  Acts,  at  the  20th  of  iii.,  p.  613. 

February.     See    "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber-  s  in  the  "  Leabhar  Breac"  copy,  belong- 

nise,"  xx.   Februarii.     Vita  S.  Olcani   seu  ing  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  the  follow- 

Bolcani,  pp.  375  to  378.  ing     stanza,    translated    into    English     by 

18  See   Colgan's    "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.,  may  be  found  : — 
Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  lxxxvi.,  p.  85,  and 

n.  94,  p.  112,  and  cap.  cxxxvii.,  p.  95.     Also  DAgon'OAr)  mop  TttAncAin 

nn.  143,  144,  145,  pp.  114,  115,  and  n.  149,  triAr\orelUMb  r-eimte 

p.  115*  Va  cec  mAj\cir\  HAin^A 

"'See  ibid.,   Septima   Vita  S.    Patricii,  V1,1'°hA|A]\in,or,e  Uennle. 
lib.  ii.,  cap.  cxxviii.,  p.  146. 

30  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's   "Lives  of  the  "  Martin's  good  great  ordination,  you  have 

Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints,"  not  seen  its  like:  with  a  hundred  wonder- 

vol.  vii.,  July  iv.  ful   martyrs,    Findbarr  of  Inis   Teimle."— 

a' Edited  by  Drs.   Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  "Transactions    of    the   Royal  Irish    Aca- 

186,  187.  demy,"    Irish   Manuscript    Series,     vol.    i., 

32  See  at  p.  186.  part  i.     On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus,  p.  cix. 

Article     ii. — «      According     to     the  6  Then  follows  a  statement,  that  Aed  was 

"  Genealogic   Sanctology,"    chap,    xiv.,  as  son  of  Dallen,  son  to  Liathain,  son  of  Briun, 

quoted  by  Colgan  in  "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  son  to  Eogan,  son  of  Brece,  son  to  Artchorp, 

Appendix  Quarta  ad  Acta  S.  Brigidae,  cap.  son  of  Fiacha  Suigte.    Here,  he  and  Brigit 

iii.,  p.  613.  meet.     See  ibid.,  p.  cxv. 

3  He  belonged  to    the  same    race    from  7  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

which  St.  Brighit  is  descended  according  to  8  See  "  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs  and 

the  poem  which  begins,  "  Naoimhshenchus  other  principal  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  iv. 


July  4.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  5 3 


of  a  famous  monastery  in  the  Isle  of  Crimlen,  and  remarks,  that  he  is  not  to 
be  confounded  with  St.  Finbarr,  the  first  bishop  of  Cork.?  The  Bollandists  IO 
have  noticed  St.  Finnbarr,  Abbot  of  Inis-Doimhle,  on  the  authority  of  Father 
O'Sheerin's  Irish  Manuscripts ;  but,  they  seem  incapable  of  distinguishing 
him  from  another  St.  Finnbarr,  venerated  on  the  10th  or  20th  of  September. 
He  flourished  probably  some  time  during  the  sixth  century.  He  was  abbot 
in  Inis  Doimhle,  between  Ui  Ceiunsealaigh  and  the  Deisi.  According  to  a 
learned  Irish  topographer,11  Inis  Doimhle  would  appear  to  be  the  place  now 
called  Inch,  situated  in  the  barony  of  Shelmaliere,  and  county  of  Wexford. 
There  is  a  parish  called  Inch,12  in  the  south-western  extremity  of  Shelmalier 
West  barony,  in  the  county  of  Wexford.^  In  the  year  1840,  some  remains  of 
the  old  church  walls  placed  in  this  parish  were  visible,  but  they  had  been 
so  entirely  covered  over  with  thorns  and  briars,  that  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  former  building  could  not  be  measured.1*  These  ruins  had  an  appear- 
ance of  great  antiquity,  and  the  walls  had  been  altogether  built  with  very 
large  stones.  According  to  tradition,  no  interment  had  taken  place  there, 
since  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  The  present  holy  man  is  said  to  have 
founded  a  monastery,  in  the  Isle  of  Drumlen,  between  Hy  Kinsellagh  and 
the  Decies  of  Munster/s  according  to  a  Manuscript  of  John  Windale.16  Ac- 
cording to  another  statement,  the  Irish  Damhly  of  the  old  Irish  Manuscripts 
was  no  other  than  the  Insula  Sancta  Clara,  now  called  Cape  Clear  Island.1? 
The  Martyrology  of  Donegal,18  at  this  same  date,  registers  him  as  Fionn- 
bharr,  son  of  Aedh.  In  the  Irish  Calendar  *9  belonging  to  the  Irish  Ordnance 
Survey  Records,  there  is  an  entry  of  St.  Fionabar,  at  the  4th  of  July.20  In 
Scotland  he  was  venerated,  on  the  same  day.21  The  feast  of  this  saint  is 
entered  likewise,  in  the  "  Circle  of  the  Seasons/'22  at  the  4th  of  July. 


Article  III. — Feast  of  St.  Martin's  Ordination.     In  the  early  Irish 
Church,  as  we  find  in  the  "Feilire"1  of  St.  ^Engus,  and  on  the  4U1  of  July, 


9  Colgan's  Manuscripts,  at  the  4th  of  July  but  written  in  the  year  1S40,  pp.  356,  357. 
are  quoted.     See  ibid.  I4  On  the  eastern  bank  of  Owenduff  River, 

10  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  in  the  townland  of  Kayle,  and  not  far  from 
Julii  iv.  Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  the  old  church,  is  Lady's  Well.  It  was 
p .  4.  concealed  in  the  middle  of  a  shrubbery,  in 


Dr.  O'Donovan.      See  his  "Annals  of 


to. 


the  Four   Masters,"  vol.  i.,  n.  (1)),  p.  380.  r5  Bibl.  MSS.  Sowensisis,  vol.  i.,  p.   158. 

12  According  to  Mr.  O'Donovan,  the  name  Irish  Records,  vol.  vi.,  p.  829. 

Inch  is  an  Anglicizing  of  1tiif  or  1  nfe,  which  l6  Now  preserved  in  the  Library  of  the 

signifies  an  island,  or  the  holme  of  a  river.  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

This  same  gentleman  states,  that  he  takes  I7  See  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall's  "Ireland  :  its 

Inch  to  be  the  \m\  "Oonfite  of  the  Irish  Scenery,  Character,"  &c,  vol.  i.,  pp.  137, 

Calendars.     These  remarks  of  Mr.  O'Dono-  138. 

van  are  included  within  a  foregoing   letter  l8  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

of  Mr.  O'Keefe,  at  p.  356.     In  the  Parish  186,  187. 

and  Barony  Name  Book  for  the  County  of  I9   Intituled   "Common  Place  Book  F," 

Wexford,  Mr.  O'Donovan  also  renders  Inch  and  now  preserved  in  the  Royal  Irish  Aca- 

by  1nfe,  a  holm  strath  or  island,  at  p.  50.  demy. 

13  The  parish  of  Inch  is  bounded  on  the  20  Thus  :  tl  ponnAbViAn  mac  AoxAi  mAC 
east  and  west,  by  divided  portions  of  Clon-  "DaHaim  x>o  rhliopeocho  ponn  -oeanbh- 
geen  parish  ;  on  the  north,  by  Newbawn  ;  nacViAn  no  bnAcViAfv  -oo  cloitin  mac  <Vot)h 
and  on  the  south-west,  by  Owenduff  parish.  <\c!ia  cIiacVi.  &b  Infe  "O 01m hie  &  leich 
It  is  situated  about  nine  miles  eastward  of  imchiol  na  CinnreAlAch.  See  p.  60. 
New  Ross.  See  "  Letters  containing  Infor-  21  The  Kalendarium  Drummondiense  has  : 
mation  relative  to  the  Antiquities  of  the  "  Et  apud  Iliberniam  Natale  Sancti  Con- 
County  Wexford,  collected  during  the  fessoris  Finbarr." — Bishop  F«rbes'  "  Kalen- 
Progress  of  the  Ordnance  Survey  in  1840,"  dais  of  Scottish  Saints,"  p.  17. 

vol.  ii.    Mr.   O'Keefe's  Letter,  not  dated,  3a  See  p.  186. 


54  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  4. 


was  celebrated  the  feast  of  St.  Martin's  ordination.  A  comment  explains, 
that  this  referred  to  his  reception  of  the  episcopate  at  Tours,  in  France.2  The 
Bollandists3  refer  to  his  festival,  likewise,  at  this  date  ;  while  they  style  it  the 
feast  for  the  Translation  of  his  Relics,  relying  on  an  entry  in  the  old  Epter- 
nac  Martyrology.4  Also  in  the  old  Martyrology  of  Corbie,  there  appears  to 
have  been  a  triple  celebration — viz.,  of  his  episcopal  Ordination,  of  a  corpo- 
real Translation  of  his  Relics,  and  of  the  Dedication  of  a  church  to  him — and 
all  singularly  enough  coinciding  on  the  4th  of  July. s  In  the  Kalendar  of 
Drummond,6  this  triple  feast  of  his  Translation,  of  his  Ordination,  and  of  the 
Dedication  of  his  church  is  to  be  found,  at  this  same  date.  The  Translation 
alone  is  commemorated  in  the  Kalendar  of  Hyrdmanistoun,?  in  the  Calendar 
of  Culenros,8  and  in  the  Kalendar  of  Arbuthnott.9  His  feast  of  Translation 
is  also  entered,  in  that  Kalendar  belonging  to  the  Breviary  of  Aberdeen.10 


Article  IV. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Siluenieus  at  Kilreule,  in 
Scotland.  In  the  Scottish  Menology  of  Thomas  Dempster,1  there  is  notice 
of  a  Canon  Silueneius  or  Silveneus,  at  Kilrule,  on  this  day.  He  is  said  to 
have  received  St.  Regulus,*  when  he  brought  the  Relics  of  St.  Andre\v,3  the 
Apostle.  From  Dempster,  Ferrarius  introduced  Silveneus  to  his  General 
Catalogue  of  Saints,  and,  it  is  stated,  that  he  lived  about  the  year  369.  The 
Bollandists  4  have  notices  to  this  effect,  at  the  4th  of  July,  but  they  seem  to 
attach  little  importance  to  the  statements  of  Dempster. 


Article  V. — Reputed  FeastJSt.  Modwenna.  In  the  Supplement  to 
his  Univeral  Martyrology,  as  we  are  informed  by  the  Bollandists,1  Castellan 
has  placed  the  feast  of  St.  Modwenna,  at  the  4th  of  July.  In  the  approved 
Kalendars,  her  festival  has  been  assigned  to  the  day  following. 


Article  VI. — Translation  of  the  Relics  of  St.  Ursula.  In  the 
Lubeck  and  Cologne  edition — as  the  Bollandists  1  state — of  Greven's  addi- 
tions to  the  Martyrology  of  Usuard  may  be  found  the  Translation  of  some 
Relics  of  St.  Ursula,  virgin  and  queen,2  from  the  city  of  Cologne,  to  the 
monastery  Tuiciense,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  at  the  4th  of  July. 

Article    hi.—  1  See  "Transactions   of  Article    iv.—  x    See     Bishop    Forbes' 

the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  "  Kalendars  of  Scottish  Saints,"  p.  204. 

Scries,  vol  i.,  part  i.      On  the  Calendar  of  2  His  feast  has  been  referred  to  the  30th 

Oengus,  p.  cix.  of  March,  and  to  the  17th  of  October. 

3  See  ibid.,  p.  cxv.  His  festival  occurs,  on  the  30th  of  No- 

3   See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii.,  vember. 

Julii  iv.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  4.  *   See     "Acta   Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

*    It  is   there   entered:    "  Translatio    S.  Julii  iv.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  4. 

Martini  in  Turnis."  Article  v. —  '   See  "Acta  Sanctorum," 

5  The  Bollandists  add,  "etiaminhodierno  tomus  ii.,  Julii  iv.     Among  the  pretermitted 
Romano.  Dempstero  placuit  scribere  :  Co-  feasts,  p.  4. 

Ionise,  Martini  Scotorum  Patroni  translatio.  Article  VI. —  '  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum," 

De  eadem  cgimus  in  observatione  ad  Usuar-  tomus  ii.,  Julii  iv.     Among  the  pretermitted 

dum,   omnia  remittentes  ad  diem   natalem  feasts,  p.  4. 

xi.  Novembris."  3  To  this  is  added,  another  Translation  of 

6  See  Bishop  l-'orbes'  "Kalendars of  Scot-  St.    Florentina    or    Floientia,    Virgin    and 
tish  Saints,'' p.  17.  Martyr,   belonging  to  the  company  of  the 

1  See  ibid.,  p.  42.  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins,    but  whose  chief 

1  Scr  ibid.,  p.  59.  festival  is  more  properly  referable  to  the  2ist 

1  See  ibid.,  p.  103.  of  October. 

10  See  ibid.,  p.  118.  Article    VII.—  '    This    was     an     Irish 


July  5.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  55 


Article  VII.— Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Marianus,  Confessor  and 
Abbot,  at  Ratisbon.  {Eleventh  Century.']  At  this  date,  July  4th, 
Camerarius  places  the  festival  of  St.  Marianus,  Confessor  and  Abbot,  in  the 
celebrated  Scottish  Monastery  x  of  Ratisbon  in  Germany.*  He  is  said  to 
have  lived  in  the  Caledonian  province  of  Scotia,  the  chief  city  of  which  is 
called  Dumcalidonia,  or  Dunkeld,  and  there  to  have  presided  over  a  com- 
munity of  monks,  and  with  a  great  reputation  for  sanctity.  However,  a  more 
exact  criticism  has  proved  him  to  have  been  an  Irishman  from  Donegal. 3 
There  is  a  memoir  of  him  and  of  his  successors  composed  by  an  Irish  monk 
of  Ratisbon. *  Dempster  has  an  imperfect  account  of  him  at  this  same  date,* 
which  he  notes  as  the  Feast  for  his  Translation. 


Article  VIII. — Reputed  Translation  of  St.  Rumold's  Relics.  In 
the  Codex  of  Usuard  at  Bruxelles  and  in  the  Florarius  Sanctorum,  the  Bollan- 
dists  *  state,  that  the  Translation  of  St.  Rumold  is  set  down,  at  the  4th  of 
July.  His  Life  has  been  pretty  fully  treated  already,  at  the  1st  of  this 
month.8 


jfiftft  2Bap  of  gulp, 


ARTICLE  I.— ST.MODWEN,  MONYNNA,  MONINIA,  MONENNA,  MODUENNA, 

MODWENNA,  MONYMA,  MODOVENA,  MOWENA,  MODVENNA,  OR 

NODWENNA,  VIRGIN. 

[PROBABLY  IN  THE  NINTH  CENTURY^ 

THERE  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt,  but  that  the  biography  of  the  present 
holy  woman  has  been  confused  by  different  writers.  It  certainly 
requires  a  critical  examination  and  correction,  if  we  are  to  draw  any  authentic 
particulars,  which  serve  to  distinguish  her  individuality,  place,  and  period. 
The  form  of  name  has  been  so  varied,  that  a  probability  arises  of  more  than 
one  pious  saint  having  lived;  and  the  incidents  related,  in  such  Acts  as 
remain  to  us,  serve  to  show  a  parachronismus  in  their  application  to  one  and 
the  same  person.  Again,  it  seems  pretty  certain,  that  her  Acts  had  been 
written  long  after  the  period  when  she  nourished,  and  which  must  account  for 
much  ignorance  on  the  part  of  their  writers,  who  were  even  incapable  of 
separating  well  known  annalistic  facts  of  Irish  and  English  history,  or  of 


Monastery,  and  founded  for  Irishmen.  s  Thus  :  "B   Colonise  Martini   Scotorum 

a  In  the  "  Edinburgh  Review  "  of  January,  patroni     translatio.     Adelbaud." — Menolo- 

1861,  there  is  an  interesting  article  on  "  The  gium  Scoticum.     Bishop  Forbes'   "  Kalen- 

Scottish  Religious  Houses  abroad."  dars  of  Scottish  Saints,"  p.  204. 

3  See    Bishop    Forbes'    " Kalendars    of  Article  viii. — '  See    "Acta    Sancto- 
Scottish  Saints,"  p.  391.  rum,"  tomus  ii.,   Julii  iv.     Among  the  pre- 

4  This  is  in  the  Bollandists'  "Acta  Sane-  termitted  saints,  p.  2. 

torum, "tomus  ii.,Februariiix.  DeB.Mariano  2  See  in  the  present  volume  of  this  work, 

Scoto,  Abbate  Ord.  S.  Benedicti,  et  B.  Mur-  Art.  i. 

cherato  Incluso,  Ratisbonse  in  Bavaria,  pp.  Article  I.— *  Nothing  more  seems  to  be 

365  to  372.  known  regarding  him ;  but  his  name  and  the 


56 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  5< 


referring  these  to  periods  which  could  not  have  been  contemporaneous 
with  any  one  living  person.  Intrinsically,  too,  they  abound  in  fables  or  incre- 
dible narratives,  calculated  not  only  to  puzzle,  but  likewise  to  displease  and 
to  disappoint,  the  studious  readers  of  hagiology. 

Several  Manuscript  Lives  of  this  holy  woman  are  extant,  and  some  of  her 
Acts  have  been  published.  Among  the  latter,  are  her  Life  by  Concubran  x — 
an  ancient  writer2 — and  that  by  an  anonymous  writer 3  as  found  in  a  Sala- 
mancan  Manuscript/  Galfridus  Edys,  otherwise  known  as  Geoffrey,  a  monk 
of  Burton,5  prepared  a  Life  of  St.  Modwenna.6  Among  the  Clarendon 
Manuscripts  7  is  contained  a  Life  of  St.  Modwenna,  Virgin.  There  is 
another,8  written  by  Concubran.9  Among  other  records,  we  find  extant  a 
Tract  intituled  :  S.  Modvennae  Vita,  et  Tractatus  de  Miraculis  ejus.10  This 
Manuscript,  written  in  the  thirteenth  century,  formerly  belonged  to  the  Abbey 
ofRevesby.  An  abridgment  of  Geoffrey  of  Burton  exists.11  In  the  Bodleian 
Library,  Oxford,  there  is  a  Manuscript  Life  of  this  saint.12  It  was  written  in 
the  fifteenth  century.^  In  a  Lambeth  Manuscript,1*  there  are  Acts  or 
notices  of  several  saints  out  of  the  regular  order  at  the  end,  and  among  these 
is  a  lengthy  Life  of  St.  Modvenna.1*  In  old  French  verse,  the  Life  of  St. 
Modwenna  has  been  written,  and  at  great  length.16  This  poem  :7  contains 
about  10,360  lines.  Among  the  Sloane  Manuscripts,  there  is  a  paper  folio 
Life  of  St.  Monenna,18  which  was  written  in  the  seventeenth  century.  In  some 
of  her  Acts,  she  is  called  indifferently  Monynna  and  Darerca.1^  John 
Capgrave,90  at  tertio  Nonas  Julii,  also  mentions  St.  Modwena,  Virgin  and 
Abbess.  The  English  Martyrology  and  Henry  Fitzsimon  have  Modwenna, 
Virgin,   for  the  same  feast-day.      The  anonymous  Calendar  published  by 


intrinsic  statements  in  the  memoir  sufficiently 

demonstrate  that  he  was  Imh.    This  Life 

n  piinted  by  the  Bollandists. 

2  He  appears  to  have  been  the  earliest 
known  compiler  of  St.  Modwenna's  Life, 
and  from  it,  as  the  ba^is,  many  other  Lives 
were  drawn. 

3  This  has  been  printed  in  the  "  Acta 
Sanctorum  "  of  the  Bollandists,  at  the  6th 
July.  torn,  ii.,  p.  290. 

4  It  begins  with  these  words:  "Virgo 
venerabilis  nomine  Darerca,  cognomento 
Monynnna,"  &c. 

s  Uc  was  at  first  prior  of  Winchester,  and 
afterwards  he  was  promoted  to  be  abbot  of 
Burton-upon-Trent,  from  A.D.  1114  to  1151. 
Annales  Burton  apud  Fell,  i.,  pp.  248,  249. 

6  There  is  a  copy  among  the  Cottonian 
Manuscripts.  It  is  clashed,  Cleopat.  A  ii., 
small  vellum,  4to.  This  Life — Manuscript 
of  the  eleventh  century — properly  belongs  to 
Conchubranus,  whose  name  occurs  at  the 
end.  There  is  likewise  a  S.  Modvennoe 
Vita,  per  Galfridum  Burtoniensem,  described 
as  MS.  Mostyn  Gloddaeth,  p.  5. 

7  This  is  numbered  76. 

8  This  is  numbered  39,  and  it  was  written 
in  the  thirteenth  century. 

'  See  "Catalogi  Librorum  Manuscripto- 
rum  Anglic  et  UibernLw" 

is  classed:  MS.    Bibl.   Reg.  15,  B. 
iv..  ff.  76,  78,  veil.  4to. 

"  Vita  S.  Modwenna:  MS.  Lansdowne, 
436,  ft.  I26,b-I3l  b,  veil,  folio  xiv.  cent. 


12  It  is  noticed  as  Vita  S.  Modwenna;. 

13  Classed  Tanner,  15,  f.  423,  veil,  folio. 
x«  Classed  99,  5,  f.  187. 

13  This  collection  is  intituled  :  "  Catalo- 
gus  Sanctorum  in  Anglia  pausantium  et 
oriundorum,  quorum  Depositionum  diescon- 
sequenter  annotantur,  Progreditur  juxta  or- 
dinem  Mensium  adeoque  incipiens  ab 
Edwardo  Confessore,  8  Kal.  Januar.  desinit 
in  S.  Thoma,  Cant.  4to  Kal.  Januar." 

16  It  is  classed  in  the  Bodleian  Library, 
Oxford,  Digby,  34,  ff.  1-76,  vell.Svo.,  dble. 
cols.  The  Manuscript  belongs  to  the  twelfth 
century. 

'7  It  thus  commences  : — 

"  Oez  seignurs  pur  Deu  nus  pri, 
Cummunt  li  munz  eit  peri 
A  la  gloire  dunt  il  chai, 
Par  Jhesu  Crist  reverti." 

18  It  is  noted  as  Vita  S.  Monennrc,  No. 
4788,  ff.  1-32. 

19  Among  the  Burgundian  Library  Manu- 
scripts, at  Bruxelles,  there  is  a  Vita  S. 
Monymnse  cogn.  Darercae,  at  fol.  79  of 
vol.  xxii. 

20  See  "Nova  Legenda  Angliae,"  fol. 
cexxxiiii.,  cexxxv.,  cexxxvi.,  cexxxvii., 
cexxxviii.,  cexxxix.,  ccxl. 

31  However,  this  is  probably  a  mistake  of 
orthography  by  substituting  an  N  for  an  M 
as  the  initial  letters. 

22  See  "  Histories  Cntholicac  [berniae  Com- 


July  5.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  5  7 


O'Sullevan  Beare  has  Nodwenna 21  entered,  at  the  same  date.22  The  Manu- 
script from  which  John  Capgrave's  Life  of  this  holy  woman  23  had  been 
printed  is  extant  among  the  Cottonian  collections.2'*  Besides,  in  the  collec- 
tions of  F.  Maihew,2*  some  notices  of  her  are  to  be  met  with.  It  appears 
Colgan's  posthumous  list 26  of  Irish  Saints  notes  St.  Moduenna's  Life  as  pre- 
pared for  publication,  at  the  5th  of  July.  The  Acts  of  St.  Modwenna,  in  two 
sections  and  twenty-six  paragraphs,  are  to  be  found  in  the  great  Bollandist 
collection. 27  There  Father  John  Pinius  very  critically  examines  the  legendary 
biographies  which  had  been  written,  and  he  shows  how  impossible  it  must  be 
to  reconcile  them  with  an  individual  saint,  who  at  one  time  is  stated  to  have 
received  the  veil  from  St.  Patrick,  the  Apostle  of  Ireland  in  the  fifth  cen- 
tury ;  also,  to  have  lived  in  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century;  and,  again, 
to  have  flourished  and  built  monasteries  in  England  about  the  middle  of  the 
ninth  century.  He  inclines  to  the  opinion,  that  there  must  have  been  at  least 
three  Moninnas — if  we  are  to  attach  any  degree  of  credit  to  the  specifications 
set  forth  in  those  Acts 28  which  have  come  down  to  our  times.  There  is  a 
Vita  S.  Darercse  seu  Monynnse  Virginis  by  some  anonymous  writer, 29  and  it  is 
supposed  by  Father  John  Pinius  to  have  been  written  earlier  than  one  attri- 
buted to  Conchubran.  Its  narratives  are  briefer,  written  in  a  better  style  of 
composition,  altogether  more  comformable  to  credibility,  yet  does  it  abound 
in  anachronisms.  Both  agree,  however,  in  many  statements.  The  published 
Life  of  St.  Modwenna,3°  attributed  to  Conchubran  31 — who  is  thought  to  have 
written  in  the  eleventh  century — has  probably  been  interpolated  ;32  for  besides 
various  silly  popular  legends  introduced,  it  is  quite  evident,  that  the  names  of 
many  Irish  places  are  misunderstood  and  falsely  spelled,  while  it  is  not  likely 
that  any  Irish  scribe  could  have  fallen  into  such  obvious  mistakes.  The  same 
Conchubran  is  said  to  have  written,  moreover,  two  alphabetical  Hymns  in 
praise  of  the  same  Moninna.  However,  Archbishop  Ussher  and  Sir  James 
Ware  both  maintain,  that  there  were  two  distinct  saints  bearing  this  name; 
one  of  these  was  usually  known  as  Darerca,  who  flourished  in  the  time  of  St. 
Patrick,  and  who  departed  this  life  at  Kilsleve  of  Kilsleve-Cuilin,  in  the 
county  of  Armagh,  on  the  3rd  of  July,  A.D.  516  or  518  ;  while  the  other  is 
said  to  have  flourished  about  the  year  640.  We  are  told,  likewise,  that  Con- 
cubran  confounds  the  actions  of  both.  Some  notices  of  St.  Modwena  are 
given  by  Bishop  Challoner.3^  St.  Moduena  is  called  a  noble  Irish  Virgin,  by 
Rev.  Alban  Butler,  who  has  an  account  regarding  her,  for  this  day. 3* 

pendium,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  xi.,  xii.,  pp.  published  in  the   "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  at  the 

50,  56.  6th  of  July.     It  is  there  divided  into  four 

23  It  is  intituled  :  Vita  S.  Modvennse.  chapters,     consisting     of    forty-five    para- 

24  It  is  classed  Tiber.  E.  i.,  ff.  199  b-204  b.  graphs. 

25  See  "  Troprueorum  Benedictinorum,"  30  This  has  been  taken  from  the  Codex  in 
tomus  ii.,  pp.  909,  910.  the  Cottonian  Library,  and  the  original  was 

26  See  "  Catalogus  Actuum  Sanctorum  classed  Cleopatra  A.  2.  It  has  been  pub- 
quse  MS.  habentur,  Ordine  Mensium  et  lished  the  second  in  order  by  the  Bollan- 
Dierum."  dists,  at  the  6th  of  July,  and  it  has  been  col- 

27  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  lated  with  a  Life  of  St.  Monynna  or  Darerca. 
v.  De  S.  Moduenna  seu  Monenna,  Monynna  Besides  a  Prologue,  it  is  given  in  eight 
Monyma,  una  an  pluribus,  pp.  241  to  246.  chapters,  consisting  of  seventy-eight   para- 

2S  A  transcript  of  the  Manuscript  Codex  of  graphs, 

this  saint's  Life,  classed  Cleopatra  A.  2,  and  31  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  scholas- 

belonging  to  the  Cottonian  Library,  appears  tic  of  Gleanussen,   who  is  related  to  have 

to  have  been  sent  by  the  learned  William  died  there  A.D.  1082. 

Dugdale  in   1678,  to  Father  Daniel  Pape-  32  His  work,  according  to  Sir  James  Ware, 

broch.  was  written  in  Three  Books.  See  "De  Scrip- 

29  This  has    been  taken  from   an   Irish  toribus  Hibernke, "  lib.  i.,  cap.  viii.,  p.  57. 

Manuscript,   belonging  to  the  Salamancan  33  See  "  Britannia  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  at  5th 

College  of  the  Jesuits,  and  it  is  the  one  first  of  July,  p.  14. 


58  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  5. 


It  seems  to  us,  no  better  means  exist  for  solving  the  difficulties  here  pre- 
sented, than  to  suppose,  that  certain  inventions  have  found  the  position  of 
facts  in  the  biographies  accessible  to  us,  unless  we  are  to  admit  their  appli- 
cation to  three  distinct  Modwennas  ;35  however,  only  two  of  these  appear  to 
be  traceable,  with  any  great  degree  of  probability  ;  therefore,  our  conjec- 
ture is,  that  the  Irish  Calendars  have  recognised  a  St.  Modwenna,  otherwise 
called  Darerca,  who  lived  contemporaneously  with  St.  Patrick,  the  great 
Irish  Apostle,  and  whose  feast  is  ascribed  to  the  6th  of  July  ;  while  the  other  is 
Modwenna,  who  went  from  Ireland  to  England,  who  flourished  probably 
during  the  ninth  century,  and  whose  feast  is  generally  referred  to  the  5th  of 
July,  by  most  of  the  Calendarists.  Proceeding  on  this  assumption,  we  shall  next 
endeavour  to  deal  conjecturally  with  her  Acts,  omitting  what  we  deem  to  be 
only  excrescences  and  fables  in  them.  Her  name  is  variedly  written  Mod- 
wen,36Moninna,  Moninne,  Maudoena,Moedoena,  Monenna,  Monynna,  Mony- 
ma,  Moninia,  Moduena,  Mowena,  Modovena,  Moduenna,  Modvenna,  Mod- 
wena,  Modewine  and  Modwenna. 37  According  to  all  the  received  accounts,  St. 
Modwenna  was  born  in  Ireland,58  but,  in  what  particular  part  of  it,  we  have 
no  correct  means  for  ascertaining.  According  to  her  Acts,  as  written  by 
Capgrave,  her  father  was  a  king.39  She  had  first  embraced  a  religious  life  in 
her  own  country.  There  she  was  illustrious  for  sanctity  and  miracles.  She 
also  trained  many  pious  souls  in  the  fear  and  love  of  God.  She  is  said  to 
have  established  a  nunnery  in  Ireland  at  Celistline,  and  at  other  places. 4° 
She  miraculously  cured  Alfred,  the  illustrious  son  of  King  Ethelwolf,  from  a 
grievous  infirmity.  He  was  the  fourth  son  of  the  king,  by  his  first  wife  Osburg, 
and  he  was  born  a.d.  849,  the  thirteenth  of  his  father's  reign.  When  only 
five  years  old,  the  young  Prince  Alfred  was  sent  to  Rome,  where  he  was  con- 
firmed by  Pope  Leo  IV.*1  Afterwards,  during  the  successive  reigns  of  his 
three  elder  brothers,  Ethelbald,*9  Ethelbert,*3  and  Ethelred,^  Prince  Alfred 
had  acquired  such  a  reputation  for  wisdom,  magnanimity  and  integrity,  that 
he  acted  as  viceroy  under  each  of  them,  until  he  came  to  the  throne  a.d. 
872.  The  virtues,  valour  and  abilities  of  King  Alfred  are  matters  of  history  45 
so  well  known,  that  it  is  needless  to  state,  his  reign  which  lasted  twenty-nine 


34  See  "  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs  names  of  St.  Moninne,  of  Cill-Sleibhe- 
nn  1  other  principal  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  Culaind  or  Killesoy,  in  the  County  of 
July  v.  Armagh,    according  to  William    M.     llen- 

35  The  only  corresponding  names  we  find  nessey,  M.R.I.A. 

in  the  Irish  Calendars  are  Mo-Inne,  which  38  See    Bishop    Challenor's     "Britannia 

may  be  the  name  of  a  female  ;  but,  it  has  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  14. 

been  rendered    Moenind,   Moeninninius   or  39  Hut  this  author  is  mistaken,  when  he 

Moenennus,  as  recorded  at  the  21st  of  May,  makes  her  a  disciple  of  St.   Patrick.     The 

in  the  Fifth  Volume  of  this  work,  Art.  iv.  ;  Irish    Apostle    was  dead  long    before  her 

Moninne,  Virgin,  barely  recorded  at  the  3rd  time. 

of  June,  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this  work,  40  This  account  is  to  be  found  in  Holing- 

Art.  viii.  ;  the  Moduena,  Moedoena  or  Mau-  shed's  Chronicle      "  Manie  monastries  she 

doena,  who  seems  to  be  confounded  with  builded  both  in  England  and  Scotland,  as  at 

Etaoin,  and  both  of  whom  are  recorded  in  Sniveling,   Edenbrough,    and  in  Ireland  at 

the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,  at  this  date,  Celis'lineand  elsewhere." 

July  5th;  and  the  .Moninne.  Virgin  of  Sliabh  4'  He  governed  the  Church  from  A.D.  847 

Cuillmn,   who  is  placed,   at  the  following  10855.     See  Sir  Harris  Nicolas'  "  Chrono- 

day.  July  6th,  in  the  same  Martyrology.  logy  of  History,"  p.  210. 

;6In  Holingshed's  Chronicle.  «■  He  only  reigned  from  A.D.  857,   to  the 

37  There  is  a  note,  regarding   Moninna,  201  h  December,  a.d.  860. 

carried   from  column  3  to  column  4,  on  the  4i    He    reigned    from    a.d.    860,    to   A.D. 

17th  page  of  the  Ten  Folia  of  the  "  Book  of  866. 

Leinster,"  among  the  Franciscan  archives,  4  *  1 1  is  reign,  beginning  A.D.  866,  lasted  to 

Merchants' quay,  Dublin.     On  column  3,  p.  the  23rd  of  April,   a.d.  872. 

17,  there  is  also  a  short  tract,  on  the  various  *>  His   biographer   Asser  has   admirably 


July  5.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  59 


years  and  six  months  was  one  of  the  most  glorious  in  the  Annals  of  England.  He 
departed  this  life,  on  the  26th  of  October,  a.d.  899  or  90 1,*6  in  the  fifty-fust 
year  of  his  age.  However,  a  statement,4?  that  Prince  Alfred  went  into  Ireland 
to  serve  King  Conald,48  and  that  he  was  there  cured  by  St.  Modwenna,  is 
likely  to  be  false,  for  our  Annals  do  not  give  the  name  of  a  supreme  King  of 
Ireland  so  named  during  the  time  of  Prince  Alfred. 

Afterwards,  it  is  stated,  that  she  passed  into  England.  St.  Athea — said 
to  have  been  her  kinswoman — accompanied  her.  A  foolish  story  is  told 
of  Modwenna  and  several  holy  virgins  passing  over  to  a  castle  called 
Dagann  in  Britain,  in  a  miraculous  manner,  and  that  afterwards  they  visited 
the  king  there  in  his  villa,  called  Streneshalen.49  Then,  it  is  said,  that  the 
king  was  greatly  rejoiced,  and  that  besides  entrusting  his  sister  to  them  for 
her  education,  he  gave  that  villa  with  lands  and  endowments.  In  the  time  of 
King  Ethel  wolf,  5°  St.  Modwena  is  said  to  have  gone  into  England.  His 
sister  s1 — others  state  his  daughter — Edgith  or  Edith,  he  committed  during 
her  childhood  to  the  care  of  this  holy  Irish  virgin,  Modewine,*2  who  in  turn 
transferred  her  to  Athea.  From  her,  Edith  is  said  to  have  learned  the 
Psaltery,  while  St.  Modwenna  dwelt  there  for  three  months. 53  Afterwards, 
Edith  founded  the  famous  nunnery  of  Polesworth,*4  where  she  lived,  died  and 
was  honourably  buried,  so  that  from  her  the  place  was  subsequently  called 
St.  Edith's  of  Polesworth.ss  This  was  near  the  forest  of  Arden,  in  Warwick- 
shire. There,  too,  she  collected  around  her  a  pious  community  that  con- 
formed to  her  rule.56  From  King  Ethelwolf,  as  we  are  informed,  St.  Mod- 
wenna obtained  some  land,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  monastery.  The 
pious  Modwena  did  not  confine  herself,  however,  to  the  erection  of  this 
foundation.  She  built  another  religious  house  at  Trentshall,57  also  called 
Strenshall.  Some  writers  confound  this  place  with  the  Streanshalch  of  St. 
Hilda ;  but,  the  situation  of  this  latter  locality  was  in  the  northern  part  of 
England.'  At  Trenshale  for  some  time  Modwenna  led  a  solitary  life,  which 
was  passed  in  prayer,  contemplation,  and  other  religious  exercises. 

pom  trayed  his  character  and  acts.  Ethelwolfe  gave  leave  to  build  two  abbies, 

46  See  Lingard's  "History  of  England,"  and  also  dalivered  unto  her  his  sister  Edith 
vol.  i.,  chap,  iv.,  p.  187.  to  be  a  professed  nun." 

47  In  the  Life  by  Conchubran.  S3  After  this,  the  Life  by  Conchubran  adds 

48  King  Congall  or  Conald  II.  reigned  most  unchronologically,  that  she  and  her 
towards  the  close  of  the  seventh  century,  nuns  returned  with  many  gifts  to  Brigid's 
while  King  Congall  III.  was  slain  in  the  family,  in  Ireland,  and  that  she  remained 
twelfth  year  of  his  reign,  a.d.  956,  according  there  in  the  northern  parts,  until  she  and 
to  our  historians.  See  Thomas  D'Arcy  her  virgins  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome. 
McGee's  "  Popular  History  of  Ireland,"  54  In  the  time  of  Henry  L,  Robert  Mar- 
book  ii.,  chap,  iv.,  p.  79.  mion  and  Milicent,  his  wife,  were  founders 

49  In  Conchubran's  Life,  this  place  is  said  and  benefactors  of  a  nunnery  here,  which 
to  have  been  "juxta  silvam,  quae  dicitur  was  dedicated  to  St.  Mary  and  St.  Edith. 
Arderne."  It  was  placed  under  the  Black  Nuns,  and  at 

50  His  reign  over  England  commenced  the  time  of  suppression  it  was  valued  at 
A.D.  837.  He  reigned  over  twenty  years,  and  ^"23  8s.  6d.  See  John  Speed's  "  History  of 
died  on  the  13th  of  January,  a.d.  857.  Great  Britaine,"  book  ix.,  chap.   xxi.  Cata- 

st  She  appears  to  have  been  much  younger  logue  of  the  Religious  Houses.     Warwick- 

than  her  brother  Ethelwolf.  shire. 

52  The  following  is  Holingshed's  account  ss   See  ibid.^    book  vii.,    chap,  xxxi.,  p. 

of  this  saint :   "In  this  season  one  Modwen,  366. 

a  virgin  in  Ireland,  was  greatly  renowned  in  s6  That  regular  discipline  she  there  estab- 

the  world,  unto  whom  King  Ethelwolfe  sent  lished  continued  even  until  the  days  of  King 

his  son  Alfred  to  be  cured  of  a  disease  that  Henry  VIII.     In  this  monastery,  the  royal 

was  thought  incurable  ;  but  by  her  means  virgin  Editha  was  trained.     Afterwards,  she 

he  recoverd  health,  and  therefore,  when  her  became  its  Abbess,  and  she  was  regarded  as 

monastrie  was  destroyed  in  Ireland,  Modwen  a  great  saint, 

came  over  into  England,  unto  whom  King  57  Thus  called  by  Holingshed. 


66 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  5. 


Modwenna  went  into  Scotland,  to  visit  King  Conagal  her  kinsman, s8 
and  this  statement  causes  Father  John  Pinius  to  suspect,  that  there  had  been 
three  distinct  virgins  bearing  the  name  of  Modwenna — one  belonging  to 
Ireland,  one  to  England,  and  one  to  Scotland. 5?  At  least,  it  seems  to  us  a 
very  reasonable  supposition,  that  while  one  holy  virgin  named  Moduenna 
remained  altogether  in  Ireland,  the  present  Modwenna  extended  the  benefit  of 
her  religious  propaganda  to  England  as  also  to  Scotland.  But,  it  is  indeed  a 
very  difficult  matter  to  arrange  the  order  of  narrative  and  of  time,  in  reference  to 
her  stay  in  either  country.  We  are  told,  that  Ratheri,  Cobo,Bollan  and  Choilli, 
with  other  chiefs,  visited  her  at  this  time.60  While  in  Scotland,  no  less  than 
three  churches  did  St.  Modwenna  build  in  Galloway;  one  of  these  is  called 
Chilnecase,61  another  was  on  the  summit  of  a  mountain  denominated  Dundeue- 


Edinburgh  Castle  from  the  Grassmarket. 

nel,6a  while  the  third  was  at  Dunbreten.  She  built  a  church  in  a  castle, 
named  Strivelin,  or  Sterling.^  She  erected  a  church  at  Dunpeleder,6*  and 
from  that  place  she  crossed  the  Alban  Sea  to  visit  St.  Andrew's.6*  After- 
wards, she  went  to  Aleeth,  where  she  built  a  church,  named  Lonfortin,  near 
to  Dundee,  and  near  to  a  clear  rivulet.  There  she  dwelt  for  some  time,  and  she 
greatly  loved  that  place.66  She  erected  another  church,  in  Dunedin  or  Eden- 
burgh,6?  as  we  are  informed,  and  this  dedicated  to  St.  Michael  was  built  on 
the  top  of  a  mountain.  There  four  holy  virgins,  named  Athea,  Ede,  Osid 
and  Lazar,  lived  with  her  for  five  years.     We  are  told,   tli.it  these  afterwards 


5*  According  to  Capgrave's  account. 

59  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii 
vi.  De  S.  Darcrca  sen  Monynna  Virg.  In 
Hihernia,  Scotia,  vel  Anglia,  n.  (e),  p. 
310. 

60  See  Bishop  Forbes'  "  Kalendars  of 
Scottish  Saints,"  p.  407. 

61  This  no  doubt  should  be  written  Can- 
dida Casa,  now  Whithorn. 

61  In  Laud  on  ia. 

6'  One  of  the  royal  cities  of  Scotland,  re- 
markable for  its  castle,  placed  on  a  precipi- 


tous rock. 

61  Also  called  Dunpelder. 

65  These  several  erections  arc  mentioned 
in  the  Life  by  Conchubran.  See  "  Ussher's 
"  Britannicarum  Ecclesiarum  Antiquitates," 
cap.  xv.,  j).  369. 

1  Life  by  Conchubran  adds:  "in 
quo  in  finem  vita  suae,  ut  affirmant,  Domino 
volente,  emisit  spiriturn." 

67  The  beautiful  capital  of  Scotland.  The 
accompanying  illustration  was  drawn  by 
William    F.   Wakeman  on   the   wood,    en- 


July  5.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  61 


set  out  with  her  on  a  journey  to  Rome,  where  they  intended  to  visit  the  shrines 
of  Saints  Peter,  Paul  and  Andrew.  On  the  way,  they  came  to  the  River  Trent, 
which  passed  by  a  mountain,  called  Calvechif,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  language. 
There,  it  is  said,  they  built  a  church  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  in  Latin 
called  Mons  Calvus.  This  was  dedicated  to  the  Apostles,  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul.68 

It  has  been  stated,6?  that  thrice  this  holy  virgin  visited  Rome ;  but,  the 
indications  for  these  visits  are  too  vague  and  undefined  to  be  very  readily 
trusted.  The  first  of  these  pilgrimages  is  said  to  have  taken  place  after  her 
return  to  Arderne — it  is  to  be  presumed  from  Scotland — and  where  she  had 
been  accompanied  by  her  sisters  Athea  and  Ite.  Yet,  this  account  seems  to 
be  strangely  enough  jumbled  into  a  second  visit  from  Andressea,  and  with  a 
still  greater  number  of  companions.  Again  we  are  informed,  that  at  the  age 
of  one  hundred  and  ten  years,  Movenna  undertook  a  third  journey  to  Rome, 
when  she  returned  to  Scotland ;  but  this  latter  narrative  seems  to  be  a  con- 
fused version  of  the  two  former  journeys,  which  proves  beyond  doubt,  that 
the  whole  of  Conchubran's  Life  of  St.  Modwenna  has  been  interpolated,  and 
without  judgment  or  discrimination  on  the  part  of  the  interpolator  or  interpo- 
lators. While  making  these  three  penitental  pilgrimages  to  Rome,  it  is  stated, 
likewise,  that  she  went  all  the  way  barefoot,  and  clothed  with  a  rough  hair 
shirt.70  It  may  be  admitted,  indeed,  that  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of 
her  age,  she  had  visited  Rome,  at  least  on  one  occasion  ;  and  probably,  her 
desire  to  found  or  extend  her  various  religious  enterprises  furnished  a  neces- 
sity for  seeking  an  interview  with  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  who  then  presided 
in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter. 

Returning  into  England,  Modwenna  chose  for  hei  dwelling-place  a  little 
island,  situated  in  the  River  Trent.  At  this  time  it  was  a  desert.  There  she 
built  a  small  oratory  in  honour  of  St.  Andrew.?1  This  gave  to  that  island  the 
name  of  Andrcsey.  In  it,  the  pious  Modwenna  lived  for  seven  years  as  a 
hermitess.  Lazar  and  Athea  also  lived  there  with  her.  Afterwards,  Mod- 
wenna visited  Ireland,  as  we  are  told,  and  at  this  time  paganism  and  crime 
were  rife  throughout  all  England.72  The  fame  of  St.  Modwenna's  miracles 
drew  many  to  that  place,  which  she  had  selected  as  the  site  for  her  nunnery. 
This  undesired  concurrence  was  the  occasion,  however,  for  her  leaving  it. 
She  seems  to  have  returned  again  to  Lanfortin,  where  she  had  a  miraculous 
intuition  regarding  her  approaching  end.  Then  she  sent  messengers  to  her 
religious,  Athea,  Osid  and  Ede,  that  they  should  come  to  her.  They  obeyed 
this  summons,  and  remained  with  her  for  some  days.  Meanwhile,  the  anti- 
cipation of  her  death  spread  among  the  people,  and  her  increasing  infirmities 
began  to  fill  them  with  profound  grief.  Among  others,  it  is  stated,  that  Congal, 
King  of  Scotia  at  the  time,  with  certain  magnates  of  his  kingdom,  visited  the 
monastery.  They  are  said  to  have  requested  her,  through  a  Bishop  Ronan, 
who  was  her  brother,  that  she  should  yet  remain  among  them  for  one  year, 
and  not  leave  them  as  orphans  too  soon,  and  they  felt  assured,  that  if  she 
preferred  such  a  petition  to  heaven,  it  would  be  granted.  However,  she 
declared,  that  her  time  had  now  come,  and  she  then  imparted  her  blessing  to 
her  distinguished  visitors  and  to  all  the  people.  Already,  although  her  death 
took  place  in  Scotland,  she  had  foretold,  her  body  should  be  interred  after  her 

graved  by  Mrs.   Millard.  71    See    Cressy's     "  Church    History    of 

68  According  to  the  Life  of  Modwenna,  by  England,   under   Saxon  and    Danish   Mo- 

Conchubran.  narchs,"  part   iv.,   book  xxviii.,   chap,  ii., 

^  See  Holingshed's  "  Chronicle."  p.  744. 

70  See    Bishop   Forbes'    u  Kalendars    of  73  This  account,  we  may  very  well  credit, 

Scottish  Saint,"  p.  407.  since  the  Danes  had  succeeded  in  effecting 


62  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  5. 


death, 73  at  Andressy.  To  those  who  were  present  at  her  death-bed,  she  is 
said  to  have  declared,  that  had  their  request  been  conveyed  to  her  a  few  days 
before,  it  might  possibly  be  granted;  but  it  so  happened,  she  had  a  vision  of  the 
two  great  Apostles  of  our  Lord,  who  had  come  to  her  on  that  day  with  a 
message,  that  they  were  about  to  convey  her  soul  into  Heaven.  She  declared, 
that  they  had  brought  her  a  white  shroud,  beautifully  ornamented  with  gold  ; 
and  that  with  such  illustrious  companions,  it  was  well  she  should  be  intro- 
duced to  the  mansions  of  perpetual  bliss.  She  then  bequeathed  certain  relics, 
such  as  her  girdle,  a  cloak  of  sheep-skin,  and  certain  other  articles  which 
belonged  to  her,  and  she  requested  these,  with  her  baculus,  to  be  conveyed 
to  another  place.  She  stated,  furthermore,  that  should  those  people  who 
possessed  them  not  engage  in  hostile  incursions  on  the  lands  of  others  ;  her 
relics  should  prove  to  be  a  shield  of  defence  against  any  enemies,  who  might 
seek  to  invade  or  to  devastate  their  territory.  She  was  thus  favoured  in  her  last 
infirmity,  with  this  consoling  vision  of  the  holy  Apostles,  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul,  before  she  parsed  away  to  bliss,  having  declared,  also,  that  her  protection 
should  be  as  generously  afforded  to  all  her  devout  clients  after  death,  as  during 
her  lifetime.  Those  promises,  and  words  spoken  by  the  Bishop,  assuaged 
the  grief  of  the  people  present ;  so  that  when  he  bestowed  a  benediction 
on  them,  and  when  they  had  assisted  at  Modwenna's  holy  obsequies,  all  pre- 
pared to  start  for  their  respective  hoines.74  She  is  said  to  have  attained  the 
extraordinary  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years;"  but,  as  the  account  of 
such  great  longevity  likewise  applies  in  a  still  greater  degree  to  St.  Monenna 
or  Darerca,  venerated  at  Slieve  Cullin  on  the  day  following,  it  seems  a  matter 
of  great  difficulty  to  decide  any  point,  even  regarding  its  qualified  credibility. 

She  is  said  to  have  died  on  the  5th  of  July,?6  and  towards  the  close  of  the 
ninth  century.  It  is  related,  that  soon  after  her  death,  St.  Modwenna  appeared 
to  one  of  her  sisters,  named  Taunat  or  Tannat,  and  urged  her  to  admonish 
the  nuns,  regarding  the  infraction  of  silence  without  doors,  and  which  silence 
their  rule  enjoined.  This  message  was  conveyed  to  them,  and  after  a  pre- 
paration for  eternity  lasting  for  seven  days,  Tannat  passed  away  to  bliss  with 
her  revered  mother  and  former  superioress.  Again,  it  is  said,  that  after  St. 
Modwenna's  death,  numbers  of  Hibernians,  Scots  and  Angles  came  to  the 
place  where  her  remains  lay ;  they  were  about  to  engage  in  combat  for 
possession  of  the  holy  virgin's  body,  until  Columchille  appeared  to  them,  and 
proposed  an  expedient,  whereby  the  tumult  was  appeased.  But,  indeed,  this 
whole  fable  is  so  evidently  concocted  and  so  poorly  invented,  that  intrinsic  evi- 
dences of  its  legendary  character  are  easily  detected.  Some  time  after  her  death, 
the  blessedremains  were  translated  from  Andresey,to  the  church  of  that  Abbey, 
where  they  were  finally  deposed.  When  the  Abbey  of  Burton-upon-Trent 
was  founded,  a.d.  1004,  the  remains  of  St.  Modwenna  were  solemnly  removed 
thither.  Matthew  of  Westminster  77  informs  us,  that  in  his  day,  St.  Mod- 
wena's  tomb  was  illustrated  by  frequent  miracles. 

The  feast  of  St.  Moduenna  was  very  religiously  observed,  and  it  is  to  be 
found  noted,  at  the  5th  of  July,  among  the  Scottish  Entries  in  the  Kalen- 
dar  of  David  Camerarius.78  There  is  still  extant  a  Hymn  to  St.  Modwenna 
or  Moinnea,  among  the  Clarendon  Manuscripts. 79      In  England,  this  holy 

conquests  throughout  its  various  provinces.  77   See    "Flores   Historiarum,"   at   a.d. 

73  See    Bishop    Challoner's    "  Britannia  1201. 

Sancta,"  part  ii  ,  pp.  14,  15.  78  Thus:    "Sancta  Moduenna   Virgo  in 

W  Such  is  the  narrative  given  in  her  Life  Laudonia  et  Galouida  Scotiseprouincijs  cele- 

by  Conchrubran.  bris. " — Bishop  Forbes'  "  Kalendars  of  Scot- 

75  According    to   Holingshed's    "  Chro-  tish  Saints,"  p.  238. 

nicle."  79  It  is  numbered  39.      See  "  Catalogus 

76  See  her  Acts,  by  John  Capgrave.  Manuscriptorum  Anglise  et  Hiberniae. 


July  5.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  63 


woman  was  specially  venerated.  At  Burton-on-Trent,  the  Protestant  church 
is  still  named  after  her,  while  the  site  of  her  chapel  is  yet  called  St.  Mod- 
wen's  Orchard.  According  to  English  traditions,  the  virgin's  religious  estab- 
lishment in  Ireland  was  a  renowned  one,  towards  the  close  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury. It  is  said  to  have  been  destroyed,  and  probably  this  was  one  of 
Ireland's  holy  fanes,  that  suffered  desecration  during  the  Danish  reign  of 
terror.  The  foundation  of  a  Catholic  school,  which  long  served  for  Catholic 
religious  worship,  at  Burton,  has  been,  in  our  time,  followed  up,  by  the  erec- 
tion of  a  handsome  new  church,  dedicated  to  our  St.  Medwenna,  and  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary.80 

Some  metrical  Latin  lines  remain,81  and  which  are  intended  to  epitomize  the 
chief  incidents  relating  to  this  holy  virgin.  It  should  be  desirable,  indeed,  that 
we  had  a  more  reliable  biography  of  St.  Modwenna,  than  any  which  has  come 
within  our  cognizance.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  that  she  was 
greatly  distinguished  for  her  virtue  and  miracles,  during  that  period  in  which 
she  lived.  The  more  then  do  we  regret,  that  so  many  obscurities  and  con- 
fused traditions  conceal  from  us  her  real  Acts,  which  should  give  satisfaction 
and  edification  to  the  pious  reader  could  they  have  been  authoritatively 
recorded. 


Article  II. — St.  Etain,  Edania  or  Etavin,  Virgin,  of  Tuaim  Noa, 
now  Tumna,  in  Moylurg,  County  of  Roscommon.  We  find  only  a  few 
indications  of  this  holy  woman,  and  these  throw  little  light  on  her  period. 
A  festival  in  honour  of  Etain,  virgin,  of  Tuama  noadh,  appears  in  the  Martyr- 
ology  of  Tallagh,1  at  the  5th  of  July.  Her  name  is  Eidin  or  HeMdin,2  accord- 
ing to  John  0'Donovan,3  and  she  is  regarded  as  the  patron  saint  of  Tumna 
parish, 4  in  the  barony  of  Boyle,  and  county  of  Roscommon.  However,  the 
present  holy  virgin  appears  to  have  been  more  popularly  known,  under  the 
designation  of  Etavin.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Marianus  O'Gorman,  she  is 
commemorated  as  the  fair  Edaina,  of  full  and  immaculate  virginity,  and 
belonging  to  Tuaim-Noa,  in  the  territory  of  Magh-Luire,  on  the  banks  of  the 
River  Buill,  now  the  Boyle.  She  is  noted,  likewise,  as  Edania  or  Edoena, 
Virgin,  of  Tuaim-Noadh,  and  her  festival  is  entered  by  the  Bollandists,s  at 
this  date.  Her  place  is  called  Tuaim  mnd6  in  the  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters,  at  the  year  1249,7  and  this  means  "  the  tomb  of  the  woman  ;"  while, 
according  to  Mr.  O'Donovan,  it  seems  to  have  been  the  name  of  that  place 


80  This  has  been  effected  through  the  zeal-  3  See  "  Letters  containing  Information  re- 
ous  labours  of  Rev.  Charles  M'Cabe,  an  lative  to  the  Antiquities  of  the  County  of 
Irish  priest  in  charge  of  this  mission.  Roscommon,  collected  during  the  Progress 

81  These  are  as  follows  : —  of  the   "  Ordnance  Survey  in  1837,"  vol.  i. 

Letter  of  John  O'Donovan,  dated  Elphin, 

"  Ortum  Modvennse  dat  Hibernia,  Sco-  July  28th,  1837. 

tia  finem,  4  It  is  described  on  the  "  Ordnance  Sur- 

Anglia   dat    tumulum,    dat   Deus  vey  Townland  Maps  for  the  County  of  Ros- 

alta  poli.  common,"  sheets  4,  6,  7,  10,  1 1. 

Prima  dedit  vitam,  sed  mortem  terra  s  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii 

secunda,  v.      Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  p.  216. 

Et  terram  terrse  tertia  terra  dedit.  6  In  that  part  of  the  country,  it  is  believed, 

Aufert       Lamfortim,     quam       terra  that  the  meaning  of  Toomnaa  is  UuAim  An 

Conallea  profert.  iic,  "thenoise  of  the  ford,"  because  it  lies 

Felix  Burtonia  Virginis  ossa  tenet."  near  the  Lower  River  Boyle. 

7  At  this  date,  the  death  of  a  noble  priest, 

Article  11.— *    Edited    by    Rev.    Dr.  called  Mulkieran  O'Lenaghan  of  Tuaim  mna, 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  is  recorded. 

a  In  Irish  ex>AOin.  8  He  wishes  to  signify,  that  Etavin  who  is 


64 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  5. 


before  a  church  had  ever  been  there.  This  virgin  descended  from  the  race 
of  Brian,  son  of  Eochaidh  Muighmheadhoin,  according  to  the  O'Clerys' 
Calendar.  She  is  thought  by  some,  to  have  been  thesame  as  Moduena,  or 
Moedoena  or  Mandoena,  whose  Acts  have  been  "  recapitulated  in  the 
preceding  article.  This  opinion  is  expressed  by  a  writer,8  who  has  inserted 
his  observation  within  brackets,  in  some  additions  to  the  Martyrology 
of  Donegal.  However,  it  is  probable,  he  has  here  inserted  a  mistaken  entry .9 
This  virgin  is  still  vividly  remembered  at  her  church  of  Tumna,  in  the  parish 


The  Old  Church  of  ffumna,  County  of  Roscommon 


of  that  name,  in  the  county  of  Roscommon.  It  is  delightfully  and  romanti- 
cally situated  on  the  southern  margin  of  the  Lower  Lake  on  the  Boyle  River, 
and  near  where  it  enters  the  River  Shannon,  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  pre- 
sent town  of  Carrick-on-Shannon.  The  church  ruins  10  at  this  place,  and  also 
the  grave  of  St.  Eidin,  are  to  be  seen.  Not  far  removed  from  that  place, 
there  are  very  beautiful  ruins  "  of  the  former  Cistercian  Abbey,  at  Boyle.  In 
the  small  Island  of  Ennismacreeny  or  Ennismacreey,  in  Lough  Key,  County 
Roscommon,  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  church.  A  drawing  made  by  Bigari,  in 
the  last  century,  has  been  elegantly  engraved  ;  but,  Dr.  Ledwich's  vagaries, 
in  the  letterpress  description,  are  ridiculous  in  the  extreme.12  A  holy  well, 
called  after  St.  Etain,  was  near  the  church  called  Kill-oscoban.  To  it,  many 
were  accustomed  to  resort,  through  motives  of  devotion,  and  to  obtain  spiritual 


also  called  Moduena,  Moedoena  and  Man- 
doena— by  prefixing  the  devotional  mo  or 
"my,"  to  her  name — is  identical,  as  Rev. 
Dr.  Todd  states,  in  a  note. 

9  "The  mem.  in  the  more  recent  hand 
should  probably  belong  to  the  Moninne  under 
the  6th  of  July,"  adds  William  M.  Hennessy, 
in  a  manuscript  note  to  his  copy  of  the 
Donegal  Martyrology. 

10  The  accompanying  illustration,  taken 
by  William  F.  Wakeman  on  the  spot,  has 


been  transferred  by  him  to  the  wood,  en- 
graved by  Mrs.  Millard. 

11  Three  views  of  these  are  engraved,  and 
they  were  respectively  drawn  by  Bigari,  T. 
Cocking,  and  Lieutenant  Daniel  Grose.  An 
additional  engraving,  representing  a  ground- 
plan  and  details,  occupies  another  plate.  See 
Grose's  "Antiquities  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i., 
pp.81,  82. 

12  See  Grose's  "  Antiquities  of  Ireland," 
vol.  i„  pp.  85,  86. 


July  5.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  65 


favours,  as  also  to  be  cured  from  bodily  diseases.^  The  grave  of  this  pious 
woman  is  shown  in  the  churchyard,  not  far  from  the  River  Shannon.1*  A 
tradition  exists,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Carrick-on-Shannon,  that  the  chapel 
of  Toomna  had  been  built  by  the  family  of  Lenaghan.  The  name  is  still  extant 
in  this  parish.1*  The  name  of  this  virgin  also  occurs  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Donegal,'6  at  the  same  date,  as  Etavin,  of  Tuaim  Noa,  in  Magh  Luirg,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Bui  11.  In  the  table  added  to  this  Martyrology,  at  the  entry 
of  this  saint's  name,  the  notification  is  given,  that  she  was  identical  with  the 
virgin  Mdduena.1'  This,  however,  seems  to  be  very  doubtful.  At  the  5th 
•of  July,  St.  Edana  or  Edaena,  in  Ireland,  and  a  virgin,  is  recorded  by  Rev. 
Alban  Butler.18  At  this  date,  too,  in  the  Circle  of  the  Seasons,  x9  this  holy 
woman  is  entered,  as  St.  Edana,  Virgin,  in  Ireland.  She  is  also  recorded,  by 
Bishop  Forbes.20 


Article  III.— St.  Fergus  O'Huamaigh.  In  the  Martyrology  of 
Tallagh,1  a  festival  is  entered  at  the  5th  of  July,  in  honour  of  Fergusa  ohua- 
maigh.  The  Bollandists,2  at  this  same  date,  enter  a  Huamayus  aliquis  Fer- 
gussius,  from  the  Manuscripts  of  Father  Thomas  O'Sheerin.  They  acknow- 
ledge, however,  that  such  a  name  was  not  found  on  their  own  lists.  The 
Martyrology  of  Donegal, 3  at  the  same  date,  records  him  as  Ho  Huimmigh,* 
i.e.,  Fergus  or  Ferghass,  as  found  in  a  distinct  line,  but  evidently  referring  to 
one  and  the  same  person.  The  foregoing  words,  within  brackets,  had  been 
entered,5  by  the  more  recent  hand.6  _ 


Article  IV.— St.  Ultan.  The  name  of  Ultan  occurs,  in  the  Martyr- 
ology of  Donegal,1  as  having  been  venerated,  at  the  5th  of  July.  His  age  or 
place  does  not  seem  to  be  known. 


Article  V. — St.  Cillen.  On  the  5th  of  July,  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Donegal,1  appears  the  name  of  Cillen.2  Marianus  O'Gorman  is  cited,  as 
authority  for  the  introduction  of  his  name,  at  this  date.  The  Bollandists  3 
also  record  Kilian,  on  this  day,  but  they  do  not  pretend  to  know  who  he  was, 
if  not  identical  with  the  Kilian  of  Wurtzburgh,  who  is  venerated  on  the  8th 
of  this  month. 


13  This  is  stated  on  the  authority  of  Father  2  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii., 
Thomas  O'Sheerin,  who  seems  to  think  the  Julii  v.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts, 
present  holy  virgin  was  not  a  different  per-  pp.  215,  216. 

son  from  St.  Modwenna,   whose  feast  also  3  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

occurs  on  this  day.  186,  187. 

14  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "Annals  of  the  4  A  note  by  Dr.  Todd  says,  "The  Mart. 
Four  Masters,"  vol.  iii.,  n.  (g),  pp.  323,  Taml."  calls  him  correctly  "  Fergus  O'Hua- 
324.  maigh." 

»5  Ibid.,  n.  (n),  p.  332.  5  This  the  Rev.  Dr.  Todd  tells  us. 

16  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  6  William  M.  Hennessy  remarks,  that  the 
186,  187.  writer  did  not  possibly  notice  the  Ver^i^rf 

17  See  ibid. ,  pp.  406,  407,  and  pp.  450,  immediately  succeeding,  in  a  note  tolas  copy 
45 l-  of  the  Donegal  Martyrology. 

18  See  "  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs  and  Article  iv. — s  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and 
other  principal  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  v.  Reeves,  pp.  186,   187. 

x9  See  p.  187.  Article   v.—  1    Edited  by    Drs.    Todd 

10  See  "  Kalendars  of  Scottish  Saints,"  and  Reeve*,  pp.  186,  187. 

P-  333-  3  A  note  by  Dr.  Todd  says  at    Cillien's 

Article    hi. — *    Edited   by   Rev.   Dr.  name,  that  it  has  been  added,  by  the  more 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  recent  hand,   from  Marianus  O'Gorman. 

Vol.  VII.— No.  2.  e 


66  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  5. 


Article  VI. — St.  Rumoldus.  In  Convseus'  list,  at  the  5  tli  of  July,  we 
have  a  festival-day  assigned  to  St.  Rumoldus,  prince  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
and  afterwards  Apostle  of  Mechlin.1  Already  we  have  treated  at  some  length, 
about  this  distinguished  saint,  at  the  1st  day  of  this  month,  and  in  the  present 
volume.3 


Article  VII. — Feast  of  St.  Agatha  and  of  her  Companions, 
Martyrs.  In  the  early  Irish  Church,  at  the  5th  of  July,  the  martyrdom  of 
the  holy  virgin  St.  Agatha  and  of  her  companions  was  commemorated,  as  we 
learn  from  the  "Feilire"1  of  St.  ^Engus.  An  Irish  commentary  appended 
states  that  she  was  in  Lombardy  and  which — strange  to  say — is  supposed  by 
the  writer  of  the  gloss  to  have  been  in  Gaul.2  However,  it  seems  more  pro- 
bable, that  she  was  one  of  those  holy  Martyrs,  who  suffered  together  at 
Rhegium,  in  Calabria,  and  whose  Acts  3  are  set  down  by  the  Bollandists,*  at 
his  date,  in  a  commentary  containing  eighteen  paragraphs. 


Article  VIII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Alea,  or  Athea.  At  the 
present  date,  the  Bollandists  x  enter  the  name  of  a  holy  nun,  Alea,  remitted 
from  the  23rd  of  May.  Bucelin  commemorates  her  as  a  saint.  The  Bollan- 
dists think  she  was  Atea,  who  is  mentioned  in  the  Life  of  St.  Modwenna, 
and  regarding  whom  no  special  Acts  have  been  written. 


Article  IX. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Boniface,  Bishop  and  Martyr. 
In  a  Calendar,  not  more  particularly  described  by  Bollandus,  there  was  found 
an  entry  of  Boniface,  Bishop  and  Martyr,  at  the  5th  of  July.  However,  he 
is  thought,  to  be  the  same  as  St.  Boniface  ■  of  Mayence,2  and  Apostle  of 
Germany.  It  was  probably  an  error  of  placement — July  having  been  sub- 
stituted for  June.  At  the  5th  of  this  month,  the  Acts  of  this  illustrious 
Apostle  of  Germany  have  been  already  set  forth,  as  it  is  the  date  usually 
given  for  his  chief  Festival. 


3   See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii.,  Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.     On  the  Calendar   of 

Julii   v.     Among   the   pretermitted    saints,  Oengus,  p.  cix. 

p.   216.  2  hee   ibid.,    p.  cxv.     A  Latin  comment 

Article  vi. — r  See  O'Sul'.evan  Beare's  is  subjoined  :"  Agatus  nomen  ciuitatis  in  ilia 

"  Historic    Catholics     Ibernise     Compen-  plebe  et  ab  ilia  nominata  est." 

dium,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  x,  p.  48.  *  These  pre  written  in  Greek,  with  a  Latin 

■  >ee  Art.  i.  Translation,  in  three  paragraphs. 

Article     vii. — x    In    the     "Leabhar  *  See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

Bre.ic"  copy,  is  the  following  stanza,  trans-  Jul  i  v.     I)e  SS.  Stephano,  Primo  Episcopo 

lated  into  English  by  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes  : —  Rhegiensi     et     sociis,      Snera     Episcopo, 

Agnete,  Felicitate  et  Perpetua,  pp.  217  to 

■Oonm4j\cir\  •AgAcliA  220. 

CotiAcleip  CA111  comuL  Article  viii. — l  See  "Acta  Sancto- 
Uo  ip  Crur-c  [rro]  rlemun  rum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  v.  Among  the  preter- 
mit! opr-ei^cc  La  oitkmi.  mitted  feasts,  p.  215. 

Article   ix. —  ■    See    his  Life,   in  the 

"To  the  martyr  Agatha,  with  her  followers,  a  Sixth  Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  5th  of 

fair  assembly,  Christ  granted  perfect  peace,  June,  Art.  i. 

great  love  of  him  with  awe." — "Transactions  3  See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Julii  v.  Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  p.  214. 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  67 


£>tjrtl)  2Bap  of  3ul2* 


ARTICLE  I.-ST.  PALLADIUM  APOSTLE  OF  THE  SCOTS  AND  PICTS. 

[FIFTH    CENTURY.} 

CHAPTER     I. 

INTRODUCTION — AUTHORITIES  FOR  THE  LIFE  OF  ST.  PALLADIUS — HIS  DISPUTED  ORIGIN 
— HIS  EARLIEST  MISSION  TO  BRITAIN  AND  HIS  SUCCESS  IN  STEMMING  THE  PELAGIAN 
HERESY — CREATED  ARCHDEACON — AFTERWARDS  SELECTED  AND  CONSECRATED 
BY  POPE  ST.  CELESTINE  I.  TO  PREACH  THE  GOSPEL  AMONG  THE  SCOTS — HE  ARRIVES 
IN  IRELAND,  WHERE  HE  BUILDS  SOME  CHURCHES. 

BOTH  the  Irish  and  the  Scotch  have  regarded  with  especial  veneration 
this  early  Apostle,  charged  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  at  Rome  with  the 
duty  of  announcing  to  them  the  message  of  Gospel  truth.  His  mission  less 
successful  preceded  that  of  St.  Patrick  to  our  Island ;  but,  even  for  several 
years  before  their  appearance,  other  servants  of  Christ  had  heralded  their 
approach.  It  is  recorded,  that  at  the  period  of-  St.  Patrick's  arrival,  as 
apostolic  missionary  in  Ireland,  four  holy  men  specially  mentioned  had  been 
engaged  in  this  part  of  the  Lord's  vineyard.  These  missionaries  were  called 
Saints  Declain,1  Ibar,2  Ailbe3  and  Kieran.4  All  were  natives  of  Ireland,  while 
they  were  engaged  in  spreading  the  Gospel  light,  and  in  opening  its  great 
truths  to  the  minds  of  their  countrymen.  St.  Kieran  has  been  styled  the 
"first  born  of  Ireland's  Saints."  Thus  he  was  considered  the  proto-Saint  of 
the  Island,  so  far  remote  from  the  centre  of  Christendom,  although  the  others 
are  regarded  as  having  been  his  contemporaries.  An  innumerable  host  of 
sanctified  men  and  women  our  country  afterwards  gave  to  the  Church.  The 
fame  and  virtues  of  these  holy  persons  are  written  in  the  pages  of  almost  all 
Christian  histories  and  records.  Their  memories  are  recorded,  in  writing, 
as  well  as  remembered,  in  the  grateful  recollection  of  civilized  Europe. 
Their  names,  moreover,  are  inscribed  in  the  Book  of  Life;  and,  therefore, 
unfading  they  shall  remain,  within  the  heavenly  Jerusalem. 

After  all,  we  know  very  few  authentic  particulars,  regarding  the  Acts  of  this 
illustrious  missionary.  His  name  is  generally  Latinized  as  Palladius,  but  by 
the  Scots,  he  is  often  called  Padie.s  We  find  accounts  of  this  glorious  saint, 
bv  St.  Prosper  of  Aquitaine,6  Venerable  Bede,?  Sigebert,  Marianus  Scotus, 
Matthew  of  Westminster,8  Ado,  Hermannus  Contractus,  Florence  of  Worces- 
ter, Matthaeus  Florilegus,  Freculphus  Lexoviensis,9  Polydore  Virgil,10  Nen- 
nius  the  Briton,  Probus  Hibernus,  Jocelyn,  John  of  Teignmouth,  and  by  many 
other  early  chroniclers.     Furthermore,  those  who  have  treated  the  Acts  of 

Article  i.—  Chapter  1.— *    His  feast  s  See  Bishop  Challenor's   "Memorial  of 

occurs  at  the  24th  of  July.  British  Piety,"  p.    IOI. 

8  See  an  account  of  him,  in  the   Fourth  6  In  his  Chronicle. 

Volume  of  this  work,  at  April  23rd— the  7  See  "  Historia  Ecclesiastica  Gentis  An- 

supposed  date  for  his  festival,  Art.  ii.  glorum,"  lib.  i. ,  cap.  xiii. 

3  His  festival  is  held,  on  the  1 2th  of  Sep-  8  In  "Flores  Historiarum,"  at  A.D. 
tember.  433. 

4  See  his  Acts,  at  the  5th  of  March,  in  9  In  lib.  v.,  cap.  xxiii. 

the  Third  Volume  of  this  work,  Art.  i.  ,0  In  "Historia  Anglicana,"  lib.  iii.,  p.  59. 


68  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


Pope  St.  Celestine  I.,  such  as  Platina,"  Ciaconius,'2  and  other  writers,  inci- 
dentally relate  the  period  and  mission  of  St.  Palladius.  Since  the  time  of  the 
Reformation,  various  authors,  as  well  Protestants  as  Catholics,  allude  to  him, 
in  connexion  with  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  these  Islands.  Among  those 
may  be  enumerated  Archbishop  Ussher,1^  Baronius,1*  and  many  others. 
Father  John  Colgan  xs  has  written  a  very  learned  disquisition  on  the  mission 
of  Palladius  in  Ireland,  before  the  arrival  ol  St.  Patrick,  as  a  Christian  mis- 
sionary.16 The  Life  of  St.  Palladius  has  been  treated  by  the  Bollandist 
Father  John  Baptist  Soller,  S.J.,  in  a  historic  sylloge,  consisting  of  two  sections 
and  nineteen  paragraphs.1?  Again,  among  the  Scottish  writers,  John  Major,18 
Hector  Boetius,1*  John  Lesley,20  Thomas  Dempster,21  and  Archbishop  Spottis- 
woode,22  have  various  notices  of  St.  Palladius.  Besides  the  foregoing,  Dean 
S.  Cressy,23  Bishop  Challenor,2*  Rev.  Alban  Butler,2^  Eev.  Father  Thomas 
Innes,26  Rev.  Dr.  John  Lanigan,27  M'Lauchlan,28  and  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  S. 
Gordon, 29  record  the  few  known  particulars  about  Palladius,  and  that  have 
come  down  to  our  time. 

Historians  have  not  decided  on  the  native  country  of.  this  illustrious  mis- 
sionary and  apostle  ;  but,  there  is  a  very  concurrent  agreement  among  writers, 
that  he  was  a  Grecian^0  There  are  other  authors,  who  think,  that  Palladius 
was  probably  a  Gaul  by  birth,  although  perhaps  of  Hellenic  extraction  ;  for, 
some  of  the  southern  Gallic  cities  had  been  peopled  by  Greek  immigrants^' 
and  he  might  have  some  relationship  to  their  race.  Moreover,  some  men  of 
his  name,  and  perhaps  connected  with  his  family,  were  already  of  repute  and 
distinction  in  the  Gallic  church. 32  Some  writers  33  have  asserted,  that  this 
saint  was  a  native  of  Britain. 34  About  the  year  360  to  363,  one  of  the  chief 
officers  of  Julian  the  Apostate,  and  a  Christian,  had  been  banished  into  Britain. 
It  has  been  supposed  probable,  that  he  had  been  father  of  the  future  Deacon 
Palladius.     This  supposition  might   warrant  a  suggestion,   that  he  was  of 


11  In  Gestis  Sancti  Ccelestini.  24  See   "A  Memorial    of  British   Piety," 

12  In  "Vitse  et    Res    Gestae  Pontificum  p.  101. 

Romanorum  et  Romanae  Ecclesiae  Cardina-  2S  See   "Lives   of  the   Fathers,  Martyrs 

Hum."  and    other     principal     Saints,"    vol.    vii., 

J3  See  "  Britannicarum  Ecclesiarum  An-  July  vi. 

tiquitates,"  cap.  xvi.,  pp.  417,  to  425.  26  See  his  "  Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  His- 

14  In    "Annales    Ecclesiastici,"    at    A.D.  tory  of  Scotland." 
429,  num.  iv.  37   See  "  Ecclesiastical    History  of    Ire- 
's In  one  place,  Colgan  intimates,  he  in-  land,"  vol.  i.,   chap,  i.,  sect,   iv.,   pp.  9  to 
tended  to  give  the  Acts  of  this  saint  at  the  1 1,  sect,  xi.,  xv.,  xvi.,  pp.23  to  47.       Also 
6th  of  June,  but  this  is  clearly  a  mistake  for  chap,  iv.,  sect,  xviii.,  pp,  198  to  202. 
the  6th  of  July.  28  In  his  "  Early  Scottish  Church." 

16    See   "Trias    Thaumaturga,"    Quinta  29  See  his  "  Scotichronicon,"  vol.   i.,  pp. 

Appendix   ad    Acta   S.  Patricii,    cap.  xiv.,  391041. 

pp.  245  to  250.  30  gee   the    Rev#  i)r-   Gordon's  "  Scoti- 

'7  See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii.,  chronicon,"  vol.  i.,  p.  39.     Trithemius  calls 

Julii  v.     De    S.    Palladio    Epis.    et   Conf.  him  a  Greek. 

Scotorum  Apostolo  Forduni  in  Scotia,  pp.  3L  John  Bale  and  other  writers  adopt  this 

286  to  290.  statement. 

18    "De     Gestis    Scotorum,"    lib.     ii.,  &  Among  these    were    Palladius    Arch- 
cap,  ii.  bishop  of  Bourges,  elected  to  that  See  in 

'9  In  "  Scotorum  Hystoriae,"  lib.  vii.  a'.d.  377.     Another  of  the  same  name  filled 

20  In  his   Fourth   Book,   when    treating  that  same  See  in  a.d.  451.     See  Rev.  Dr. 

about  Eugenius  II.  Todd's  "  St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland," 

91   See    "  Historia    Ecclesiastica    Gentis  chap,  i.,  pp.  278,  279. 

Scotorum,"  lib.  xv.,  num.  998.  33  See  Father  Innes,  "  Civil  and  Ecclesi- 

82  In  his  History  of  the  Church  of  Scot-  astical  History  of  Scotland,"  p.  52. 

land.  3»  jn  a  Work  by  William  of  Malmesbury, 

23  See  "The   Church    History  of  Brit-  called  "De  AntiquitateGlastoniensis  Eccle- 

tany,"  book  ix.,  chap,  iii.,  pp.  172  to  174.  siae,"  this  is  expressly  stated. 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  69 


British  birth.  Another  mistaken  account  makes  him  an  Egyptian^  proba- 
bly originating  in  an  assumption,  that  our  Palladius  was  author  of  the  Histo- 
ria  Lausiaca;  but,  regarding  this  opinion,  there  is  no  sufficient  evidence  given. 36 
The  Bollandist  Father  J.  B.  Soller  maintains,  that  he  was  an  Italian ;  yet, 
this  opinion  is  not  very  clearly  sustained. 3?  According  to  one  account,  Palla- 
dius hailed  from  Rome.  Some  suppose  him  to  have  been  identical 
with  Palladius,  Bishop  of  Helenopolis,  and  who  wrote  the  Life  of  St.  John 
Chrysostom.s8 

In  reality,  it  is  improbable  at  the  present  day,  that  we  should  be  able 
to  glean  any  authentic  facts  regarding  his  parentage  or  native  country,  while 
as  little  seems  to  be  discoverable  regarding  his  early  training  and  education. 
Yet,  Palladius  is  called  an  Archdeacon,  in  that  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  contained  in 
the  Book  of  Armagh. 39  It  is  generally  supposed,  this  dignity  had  been  con- 
ferred on  him  in  Rome.  Also,  St.  Palladius  is  styled  an  Archdeacon,*0  or  a 
High  Deacon,  in  other  Lives  of  St.  Patrick.  A  curious  account  is  given 
regarding  a  certain  "  Ballerus,  a  man  from  Rome,"  being  at  the  head  of  a 
Welsh  college  at  Cor  Tewdws  in  Gower,  when  it  had  been  plundered  and 
sacked  by  Scotic  raiders,  and  when  they  carried  away  Padrig  Maenwyn,  who 
was  a  teacher  there,  into  captivity,  which  he  endured  in  Ireland/1  It  has 
been  supposed  probable,  that  Palladius  had  been  in  that  school  for  a  series 
of  years,  and  that  his  residence  there  might  account  for  a  special  mission  he 
had  from  Rome,  to  watch  the  progress  of  heresy  at  its  source  in  Britain, 
while  he  became  acquainted  with  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  British  Church, 
and  the  destitute  condition  of  some  scattered -Christian  communities  in 
Ireland/2  This  conjecture  supposes,  however,  that  Ballerus  had  been  iden- 
tical with  Palladius  ;  but,  we  think  it  rather  more  ingeniously  conceived  than 
well-founded  on  any  reliable  evidence.  St.  Prosper^  who  seems  to  have  had 
a  very  inaccurate  historical  and  geographical  knowledge  of  the  British  Islands, 
satisfies  us,  that  Christianity  had  taken  root  in  Britain,  and  that  the  peace  ot 
the  Church  had  been  disturbed  by  a  subsequent  prevalence  of  the  Pelagian 
heresy.  In  his  Chronicle,44  he  relates,  that  Agricola,  a  Pelagian/s  had  cor- 
rupted about  this  time  the  churches  of  Britain,  owing  to  the  insinuation  of  his 
doctrine.  Much  obscurity  prevails,  however,  in  reference  to  the  origin  and  acts 
of  its  author  Pelagius.  The  holy  Pope  Celestine  I.  was  greatly  concerned  in  his 
endeavours  to  preserve  the  Roman  province  there*6  in  the  Catholic  Faith, 
while  he  was  equally  desirous  to  bring  the  Scots  over  to  the  Christian 
Religion. 

As  Legate  to  Pope  Celestine  I.,  St.  Germanus,  the  Bishop  of  Auxerre,4? 
laboured  among  the  Britons,  who  had  been  infected  with  the  heresy  of  Pela- 

33  See  the  Breviary  of  Aberdeen.    Propria  Quarta  Vita  S.   Patricii,   cap.  xxviii.,  p.  38  ; 

Sanctorum,  ad  vi.  Julii,  fol.  xxiv.  b.  Quinta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiv.,  p.  48; 

30    See     Fordun's      "  Scoti-Chronicon,"  also,    Sexta    Vita    S.    Patricii,   cap.    xxv., 

tomusi.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  viii.,  p.  112.     Edin-  p.  70. 

burgh  Edition,  a.d.  1759.  41    gee    Ree's    "Essay    on    the    Welsh 

37  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  Saints,"  p.  128. 

v.    De  S.  Palladio,  Epis.  et  Conf.  Scotorum  42  See    Rev.  John    Francis    Shearman's 

Apostolo  Forduni  in  Scotia,  sect,  ii.,  num.  9,  "  Loca  Patriciana,"  part  xiii.,   pp.  402  to 

p.  288.      >  405. 

38  This  is  an  error,   however,   and  it  has  43  See    St.   Prosper's  Book   against    the 
been  refuted  by  Vossius  and  Ussher.  Author  of  the  Conferences,  designated  Liber 

39  In  lib.   i.,  cap.  7.      See  Rev.  Father  contra  Collatorem,  cap.  xliv. 
Edmund    Hogan's    "Vita   Sancti    Patricii  44  At  A.D.  429. 

Hibernorum     Apostoli     Auctore    Muirchu  4S  He  was  son  of  Severianus,   a  Pelagian 

Maccumachtheni   et   Tirechani  Collectanea  bishop. 

de  S.  Patricio,  p.  25.  4<5  At  this  period,  the  Roman  soldiers  had 

40  See   Colgan's    "Trias   Thaumaturga,"  deserted  the  southern  parts  of  Great  Britain ; 
Secunda  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiv.,  p,  13  j  but,  some  Roman  colonists  remained,  and 


7o  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


gius.  But,  previous  to  his  mission,  St.  Palladius  seems  to  have  been  deputed 
for  the  same  purpose,  and  to  stem  the  torrent  of  crime  and  of  false  doctrine 
that  was  then  spreading.  He  is  said  to  have  written  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
and  to  have  warned  him,  that  many  souls  were  there  likely  to  perish.  More- 
over, the  Catholics  of  Great  Britain  had  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Bishops  ot 
Gaul,  and  asking  for  missionaries,  who  should  be  able  to  defend  the  Faith 
against  the  assaults  of  heresy.-'8  The  very  distinguished  part  taken  by  Palla- 
dius, in  the  effort  to  eradicate  those  dangerous  errors  and  vices,  proves,  that 
he  had  been  delegated  to  assist  in  a  work  of  great  importance  to  religion/' 
although  we  fail  to  find  the  exact  place  where  he  laboured,  or  under  whose 
particular  direction.  This  holy  missionary  appears,  however,  to  have  been 
specially  interested  in  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  Britons,  even  before  he 
had  been  chosen  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  countries  adjoining.  We  read, 
that  St.  Palladius  was  highly  instrumental,  in  procuring  the  deliverance  of  the 
British  churches  from  being  infected  with  the  Pelagian  heresy.  After  his  deliver- 
ance of  the  Britons  from  heresy,  we  may  infer,  very  reasonably,  that  he  was 
selected  and  ordained  Bishop,  by  Pope  Celestine,  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Scottish  or  Irish  nation.  As  St.  Prosper  expresses  it,  he  was  the  first  Bishop 
among  those  Scots,  to  whom  he  was  sent.50  Several  of  the  Scotch  writers  main- 
tain, that  he  was  thus  destined  for  Scotland  ;  but  some,  who  believed  in  Christ, 
were  found  among  his  subject  people.  This  remark  could  not  have  generally 
applied  to  the  Albanian  Scots,  at  that  particular  period.  However,  in  refer- 
ence to  St.  Palladius,  much  misconception  and  mis-statement  have  prevailed. 
His  mission  was  blessed  with  such  success,  in  the  conversion  of  unbelievers, 
that  we  are  told,  Palladius  made  the  Island  of  the  Scots  Christian.51  His 
virtues  and  abilities  appear  to  have  determined  the  illustrious  Pontiff,  St. 
Celestine  I.,  to  select  him  for  a  great  missionary  enterprise,  and  to  consecrate 
him  as  bishop.  This  saint  is  said  to  have  flourished,  in  the  time  of  Theodo- 
sius  and  Valentinian,  when  his  appointment  had  been  confirmed.52  We  have 
it  on  record,  that  the  first  missionary  delegated  by  Pope  Celestine  I.53  for 
the  conversion  of  Ireland  was  Palladius.  His  selection  for  that  office  pre- 
ceded the  more  successful  career  of  the  great  St.  Patrick  ;5*  but,  Palladius  was 
not  destined  to  be  the  future  Apostle  of  our  Island.55  Pope  Celestine 
bestowed  some  relics  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  on  him,  as  also  the  Books  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,  before  he  set  out  for  Ireland.  In  the  second 
book  of  a  work,56  published  by  Bishop  Von  Carl  Johann  Greith  of  St.  Gall, 
we  are  favoured  with  an  account  of  the  early  vestiges  of  Christianity  in  Ireland. 

many  of  these  were  Christians.  5X  Now  whether  this  refers  to  England, 

*7  His   festival    is   kept,   on  the  31st    of  Ireland  or  Scotland,  the  account  must  be  rc- 

July.  ccived  only  in  a  restricted  sense.     The  Irish 

4<s  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des  and  the  Scotch  have  long  disputed  the  ques- 

Saints,"tumeix.,xxxieJourdeJuillet,p.  136.  tion,as  towhieh  nation  St.  Palladius  had  been 

*y   Archbishop  Spottisuoode  states,  that  first  sent,  but  doubtless,  it  was  to  Ireland. 

he  was  sent  to  Scotland,  chiefly  to  resist  the  s-i  See  in  Breviario  Cammiconim  Regula- 

Pelagian      heresy,     which   then    began    to  rium  Divi  Augustini,   when   treating  about 

spread    in    the   Scottish  church.     See   his  St.  Patrick. 

"History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland."  S3   In   the   Irish   Tripartite   Life    of    St. 

s°  "PraeteieaCcelestinus,  quumS.  Patricii  Patrick,   he  is  called   the    Airchinnech  in 

prsedicatione  Christianam  fidem  suscepisset  Rome,  and  the  forty-second  man  from  St. 

Scotia  et  Hibernia,  quae,  ut  modo  hsereticu-  Peter.       See   Miss  Cusack's    "Life  of  St. 

rum,  fuit  ohm  Sanctorum  insula,  dedit  Sco-  Patrick."  The  Tripartite,  translated  by  W. 

tis  primum  Episcopum    Palladium   Diaco-  M.  Hennessy,  p.  377. 

num  ;  quo  hortatore  S.  Germanum  miserat  54  The  reader  is  referred  to  what  has  been 

in    Iliberniam." — Berti's     "  Historia    Ec-  already  stated,  in  the  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  in 

clesiasticasive  Dissertationes  Ecclesiasticae,"  the  Third  Volume  of  this  work  at  the   17th 

tomus  iii.,  ssec.  v.,   Dissertatio  iv.,  cap.  i.,  day  of  March.  Art.  i.,  chap.  vi. 

p.  174.    Bassani,  1769,  folio  Ed.  ss  See  Colgan's    "Trias  Thaumaturga, " 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  71 


He  dwells  particularly  on  the  mission  of  St.  Palladius  to  our  Island.  He  shows 
by  sufficient  evidence,  that  Palladius  was  a  deacon  of  the  Roman  Church, 
and  that  he  was  sent  by  Pope  St.  Celestine  to  this  country.  Although  this 
mission  had  not  been  very  successful,  yet  the  bishop  admits,  that  other 
Christians  had  been  there  scattered  and  isolated. 57  A  learned  Protestant 
authority  =s  also  sustains  this  view  of  the  case.  A  denial  of  his  Roman  mission 
is  opposed  to  tradition  and  authoritative  documents.  Palladius  is  said  to  have 
been  accompanied  by  twelve  men,  to  instruct  the  Gaeidhel,50  and  in  the  same 
way  as  Barnabas  went  from  Peter  to  instruct  the  Romans.  He  was  then  sent  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  the  "Scots,  believing  in  Christ,"60  as  narrated  by  a  trust- 
worthy historian.  From  these  remarks,  we  might  infer,  that  there  must  have 
been  many  professors  of  the  Gospel  in  Ireland  at  this  early  time.  The  latter 
people,  according  to  the  Roman  style  of  considering  those  living  without  the 
limits  of  their  Empire,  are  styled  barbarians;  yet,  this  description  seems 
greatly  exaggerated,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  Ireland.  The  date  for  the  arrival 
of  Palladius  varies,  according  to  the  statement  of  different  authors  ;  but,  it  is 
most  generally  and  correctly  assigned  to  a.d.  431.  In  the  Annals  of  Multifer- 
nan,  it  is  incorrectly  stated,  that  in  423,61  the  year  in  which  Augustine  died,  St. 
Palladius  was  sent  to  the  Scots,  or  Irish.02  It  is  noted,  by  Prosper,  that  St. 
Paliadius  was  sent  over  the  sea  on  his  mission,  while  Bassus  and  Antiochus 
were  consuls,  which  was  in  the  year  43 1.63  Marianus  Scotus  has  a  notice  of 
St.  Palladius'  mission  to  Ireland. 6+  However,  we  are  informed  by  Matthew  of 
Paris,6s  that  Palladius  was  ordained  by  Pope  Celestine  and  sent  as  their  first 
bishop,  a.d.  433,  to  the  Scots,  believing  in  Christ.  This  is  also  the  chronology 
assigned,  for  his  mission,  by  Matthew  of  Westminster.66 

The  usual  course  of  travel  from  the  Continent  of  Europe  to  Ireland  in 
the  fifth  century  was  through  England.  According  to  one  account,  Palladius 
and  his  Roman  companions  landed  in  the  northern  part  of  Ireland,  where 
they  were  fiercely  opposed  by  the  pagan  inhabitants.6?  This  statement  is  con- 
tradictory, however,  to  that  of  most  authorities  on  the  subject;  for,  it  is  gene- 
rally held,  that  his  vessel  touched  the  eastern  shore,  in  the  first  instance. 
When  he  landed  in  Scotia,  he  came  to  that  part  of  Leinster,  where  Nathi,  son 
of  Garchon,  was  ruler.68  Another  account  has  it,  that  the  holy  missionary 
landed  at  Inbher  Dea,6°  in  the  territory  of  Leinster.     Palladius  had  a  partial 

Tertia  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxvi.,  p.  23.  tos,  id  est,  ad  Hibernicos. "—"  Annates  de 

56  Intituled,  "Geschichte  der  altirischen  Monte  Fernandi,"  .Edited  by  Dr.  Aquilla 

Kircheandihrer  verbindungmitRom,  Gallien  Smith,  p.  3.  Published  by  the  Irish  Archaeo- 

und  Alemannian  (von  430-630),"  also  Einlei-  logical  Society  in  1842. 

tung  in  die  Geschichte  des  Stifts  St.  Gallien.  **  See  Father  Papebroke's  observations  in 

s?  The  inconclusive  objections,  which  Dr.  "  Acta   Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii.,   Junii   xii. 

Todd  urges  against  the  Roman  Mission  of  De  Sancto  Ternano,  Pictorum  in  Britannia 

Palladius,     are    fully     refuted    by    Bishop  Episcopo.  IUorum  simul  et  Scotorum,  limi- 

Greith.  tes,  Apostoli,  dicecesis,  num.  4,  p.  534. 

s8  Mr.  George  Grub,  in  his  impartial  and  64  According  to  him  Indictione  xv. 

critical' 'Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,"  6=  See    "Chronica   Majora,"    edited    by 

declines  even  to  take  account  of  Dr.  Todd's  Henry  Richards  Luard,   M.A.,  vol.  i.,    p. 

objections.    See  " The  Chronicle,"  vol.  i.,  181. 

No.  37,  p.  879.  66  In    "Flores    Historiarum,"    at   a.d. 

59  '-For  to  the  Comorb  of  Peter  belongs  ccccxxxiii.,  p.  148. 

the  instruction  of  Europe,"  is  added  in  the  67  See   Richard   Stanihurst's  tract,    "De 

translation  of  the  Tripartite.  See  Miss  Mary  Vita  S.  Patricii,  Hibernise  Apostoli,"  lib.  i., 

F.  Cusack's  "  Life  of  St.  Patrick,"  p.  377.  p.  40. 

60  See  St.  Prosper,  in  his  Chronicon.  68  See   Colgan's    "Trias    Thaumaturga," 

61  The  two  latter  figures  probably  are  only  Secunda  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiv.,  p.  13. 
a  transposition,  for  what  should  make  the  6'  Some  consider  this  to  be  the  mouth  of 
date  432.  the  Vartry  river  ;  but,  such  a  supposition  is 

62  The  statement  runs  :  ' l  mittitur  ad  Scol-  by  no  means  removed  from  the  pale  of  con- 


72  LIVES  OE  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


success  in  his  first  trials,  having  baptized  some  in  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity. 7°  He  is  said  to  have  founded  three  adjoining  churches,  viz. :  Cill- 
fine,  in  which  he  left  his  books,  a  casket  with  the  relics  of  Paul  and  Peter,*1 
and  the  tablets  in  which  he  used  to  write  ;?2  Thech-na-Roman ;  as  also 
Domhnach-Airte,  or  Domnach  Ardec,  in  which  repose  theremains  of  Sylvester" 
and  Solonius,?4  who  are  regarded  as  having  been  his  disciples.  Those  chuches 
are  supposed  to  have  been  situated  within  the  present  county  of  Wicklow ; 
but  the  exact  modern  denomination  and  identification  of  each  church  have 
given  rise  to  some  divergency  of  opinion.  A  learned  writer,75  and  one  well 
acquainted  with  the  localities  named,  has  advanced  good  reason  for  supposing 
Teach  na  Roman  to  be  identical  with  Tigroney;?6  Domnach  Arda  he  main- 
tains to  be  represented  by  Donard  ;??  while,  Cell  Fine  he  considers,  to  be  the 
present  old  church  site  of  Killeen  Cormac,?8  about  three  miles  west  of  Dun- 
lavin,  in  the  townland  of  Colbinstown,  and  in  the  parish  ot  Davidstown, 
county  of  Kildare.^  We  are  of  opinion,  however,  that  Christianity  had  not 
been  propagated  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Wicklow  Mountains,  until  after 
the  arrival  of  St.  Patrick. 

According  to  a  local  tradition,  still  held  by  the  people,  Palladius  is 
said  to  have  landed  at  Ennisboheen,80  in  the  county  of  Wicklow,  and  at  the 
mouth  of  that  little  river,  which  is  about  three  miles  south  from  Wicklow  town. 
Some  authorities  have  the  shore  of  the  county  of  Wexford  as  the  spot ;  but, 
as  this  landing  took  place  many  centuries  before  either  Wexford  or  Wicklow  8l 
became  shire-divisions,  we  may  readily  conceive,  how  easy  it  might  be  to 
confuse  popular  traditions,  as  referring  to  Irish  territories,  the  boundaries  of 
which  are  now  only  known  from  historic  records.82  The  country  about  that 
quarter  was  anciently  called  Crioch  Cualan,  and  afterwards  it  was  named 
Hy-Garchan,  after  the  father  of  Nathi,  who  ruled  there  when  Palladius  landed. 
Here  he  is  said  to  have  built  the  church  of  Kilnne8^  or  "  the  Church  of 

troversy.  On  this  subject,  the  Very  Rev.  ?8  See  "Journal  of  the  Royal  Historical 
Richard  Galvin,  former  P.P.,  Rathdrum,  and  Archaeological  Association  of  Ireland," 
has  written  a  very  forcible  and  researched  vol.  ii.,  Fourth  Series,  July,  1873,  No.  15. 
communication,  which  will  be  found  in  See  a  valuable  paper,  intituled  "  Loca  Patri- 
"The  Journal  of  the  Royal  Historical  and  ciana,"  pp.  486  to  498. 
Archaeological  Association  of  Ireland,"  79  See  a  paper,  by  the  Rev.  John  Francis 
vol.  i.,  Fourth  Series,  No.  8,  October,  1S71,  Shearman,  in  the  "Irish  Ecclesiastical  Re- 
pp. 576,  577.  cord,"  for  June,  1868. 

7°  See  Colgan's   "Trias   Thaumaturga,"  8o  It  is  Anglicised  into  Ennisboyne  by  the 

Secunda  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiv.,  p.  13.  country  people  of  the  neighbourhood.     It  is 

i*  Jocelyn  states,  that  he  brought  these,  called  after  St.  Boethan,  who  lived  there  in 

with  the  relics  of  many  other  Martyrs,  from  the  seventh  century,  and   whose  feast  was 

Rome.  commemorated  on  the  22nd  of  May. 

7a  These  we  are  told  were  held  in  great  8l  Wicklow  County  was  only  formed  into 
veneration  by  the  people,  and  they  werecalled  a  shire,  so  late  as  1605-1606,  according  to 
in  the  Scottish  language  Pall-ere  or  Palla-  the  Patent  Rolls  of  3rd  of  James  I. 
dere.  L'tinized  onus  Pailadii,  or  "  the  bur-  Si  The  writer  is  indebted  to  the  Very  Rev. 
den  of  Palladius  ;"  because  this  seemed  to  Michael  Moloney,  P.P.,  the  respected  P.P. 
be  the  case  or  shrine,  in  which  the  relics  of  Kilbride  and  Barndarrig,  for  se\eral  re- 
were  kept.  marks  in  the  text,   and  conveyed  in  a  letter, 

73  The  feast  of  Sylvester  has  been  placed  dated    Kilbride,    Barndang,    12th    March, 

by  Colgan,  at  the  10th  of  March.     At  that  1886.     His   excelknt  knowledge   of  Irish 

date,  likewise,  some  notices  of  him  may  be  ecclesiastical  antiquities  has  been  the  result 

found, in theThirdVolumeof  this  work,  Art.  i.  of  a  lile-long  study,   and  with  nearly  all  the 

7*  See  Miss  M.  F.  Cusack's  Tripartite  Life  local    traditions   ol   this   part    of   Wicklow 

of  St.  Patrick,  part  i.,  pp.   377,  378.  County  he  is  most  familiar. 

75  Rev.  John  Francis  Shearman.  8^  Con  of  the  Hundred  Battles  having  been 

7*  In  the  parish  of  Castlemacadam,  county  assassinated  at  Tara,  and  his  own  brother 

of  Wicklow.  taking  part  in  that  deed,   the  time  for  retri- 

77  Near   Dunlavin,   in   the   west  of    the  bution  arrived,  when  the  son  of  Con  having 

county  of  Wicklow.  attained  his  majority  banished  his  uncle  and 


July  6.]  '     LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  73 


the  Tribes."84  This  seems  to  be  affirmed,  by  the  various  Lives  of  St.  Patrick 
extant ;  but,  the  fourth  Life  states,  that  the  church  Teach  na  Roman,  or  the 
House  of  the  Romans,  had  been  built  by  the  disciples  of  St.  Palladius,  and 
that  the  third  church,  called  Dominica  Arda,  had  been  tended  by  the  com- 
panions of  Palladius,  Silvester  and  Solinus,  whose  relics  had  been  afterwards 
conveyed  to  Knnisboethen,  where  they  were  held  in  great  honour.85  A  fair 
inference  to  be  drawn  from  all  those  incidental  statements  is,  that  the  three 
Palladian  churches,  as  they  have  been  styled,  were  not  severally  far  removed, 
and  probably  they  were  within  the  same  territory  of  Hy-Garchon.  However, 
at  the  present  day,  it  seems  impracticable  clearly  to  identify  these  various 
sites,  especially  as  the  original  churches  were  built  of  wood,86  according  to 
Jocelyn's  statement. 


C  H  APTER     II. 

OPPOSITION  EXPERIENCED  BY  ST.  PALLADIUS  IN  IRELAND — HE  IS  DRIVEN  AWAY  BY 
NATHI— OTHER  STATEMENTS—  HIS  REPUTED  MISSION  IN  NORTH  BRITAIN— HIS 
DEATH— HIS    FESTIVALS   AND  COMMEMORATIONS— CONCLUSION. 

Notwithstanding  his  high  commission  to  evangelize  the  people,  St. 
Palladius  remained  not  long  in  Ireland.1  To  St.  Patrick,  and  not  to  him, 
had  Providence  assigned  the  grand  measure  of  a  successful  mission.  No 
sooner  had  Palladius  begun  to  announce  the  Godhead  and  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,2  than  the  enemy  of  man  cast  obstacles  -in  his  way.  Nathi,  son  of 
Garchon,  a  chief  in  that  part  of  Wicklow,  opposed  his  progress.  It  is  stated, 
that  he  baptized  a  few  persons  at  Inbher-Dea,3  where  he  erected  a  monas- 
tery, called  in  the  Irish  language  Coall-mor — rightly  rendered  Kill  Mor.4 
An  ancient  tradition  states,  however,  that  Palladius  suffered  martyrdom 
among  the  Scots,5  and  owing  to  the  various  obscurities  besetting  his  Acts, 
to  many  writers  this  seems  to  be  a  supposition  sufficiently  probable.  One 
account 6  has  it,  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  land  in  Ireland  at  all,  as  tempests 
and  signs  from  God  prevented  him. 1  However,  the  prevailing  opinion 
appears  to  be,  that  the  rude  and  inhospitable  people  where  he  landed  did 
not  readily  receive  his  doctrine,  and  therefore  he  willed  not  to  remain  in  a 

his  followers,  who  came  to  Crioch  Cualan,  "  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland," 

of  which  they  took  possession.     Afterwards  Irish  Tripartite  Life,  translated  by  William 

they  were  called  'tribes  or  Strangers  by  the  M .  Hennessy,   M.R.I.A.,  part  i.,  pp.  377, 

natives  who  lived  there.  378,  and  n.  5. 

84  This  is  called  Ecclesia  Finte,  in  the  4  See  Ussher's  "  Britannicarum  Ecclesia- 
Fourth  Life.      The   meaning  is  the   same,  rum  Antiquitates,"  cap.  xvi.,  p.  424. 
Kill-fine,   Kill  finte  or   Kill-fin-tech    being          s  Such  is  the  account  given  by  Tirechan, 
rendered  in  Latin  cedes  Fine,  as  we  find  in  Sir  William  Betham's   "  Irish 

85  See  Colgan's  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Antiquarian  Researches."  In  reference  to 
Quarta   Vita  S.  Patiicii,  cap.  xxviii.,  p.  38,  him,  we  read:    "qui  martyrium  passus  est 

.and  nn.  17,  18,  19,  20,  p.  49.  apud  Scotos,  ut  tradunt  sancti  antiqui." — 

86  See  ibid.,   Sexia  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.       Appendix  xxxvi. 

xxv.,  p.  70.  6  That    of  Mark    the    Anchorite,    who 

Chapter  ii. — r  The  Annals  of  Inisfallen  flourished  in  the  ninth  century, 

state,  at   A.D.    431,  that  he  remained  one  7  In  Edward  Gunn's  edition  of  the  "  His- 

year.  toria  Britonum  "  by  Nennius,  the  following 

2  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  places  the  observation  occurs  :  "  sed  per  quasdam 
mission  of  Palladius — called  also  Patricks —  tempestates  et  signa  ilium  Deus  prohibuit, 
to  the  Scots,  in  the  year  430.  See  edition  quia  nemo  potest  quicquam  accipere  in  terra 
of  Benjamin  Thorpe,  vol.  i.,  p.  19,  and  nisi  fuerit  datum  desuper,  et  ille  Palladius 
vol.  ii.,  p.   11.  rediens  de  Hibernia  ad  Britanniam  ibi  de- 

3  Held  to  be   the  mouth  of  the  present  functus  est  in  terra  Pictorum." 

Vartry  River.     See  Miss  Mary  F.  Cusack's  8  Such  is  the  account,  in  Muirchu's  an- 


74  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.      .  [July  6. 


country  strange  to  him.     His  resolve  was  formed,  to  return  with  the  first  tide 
which  served,  and  to  seek  the  Pope  who  had  sent  him.8 

We  are  informed,  that  the  newly  arrived  missionary  was  expelled  from  the 
country .9  Sofar  as  we  can  judge,  however, twoor  more  of  hiscompanionsappear 
to  have  been  left  behind  him  in  Hy-G-irchon.10  These  were  his  disciples,  who 
are  named  Augustine,11  Benedict,"  Sylvester,1*  and  Solonius.1*  With  them 
he  left  some  books,  as  also  the  relics  of  saints. '5  Here  we  have  to  admire  the 
inscrutable  ways  of  Divine  Providence,  who  so  willed  it,  that  the  mission  of 
Palladius  should  prove  comparatively  barren  of  results,  while  within  a  short 
time  after  his  leaving  Ireland,  St.  Patrick  was  destined  to  arrive,  and  to 
preach  the  Gospel  among  the  natives,  with  most  successful  and  consoling 
results.16 

According  to  the  account  of  Jocelyn,17  finding  the  Irish  nation  obstinately 
bent  against  receiving  the  doctrines  of  truth,  Palladius  departed  from  Ireland. 
Intending  to  return  back  to  Rome,  it  is  said,  that  he  died  on  the  way, 
but  in  Britain,  and  on  Pictish  land.  After  Palladius  had  left  Ireland,  he  passed 
into  Scotland  a.d.  431, l8  as  is  generally  credited.  An  opinion  has  been 
advanced,  that  he  landed  there  in  the  north-west,  and  that  he  continued  his 
course  by  land,  until  he  arrived  at  Fordun,  where  he  fell  sick. '9  He  went  to 
the  kingdom  of  the  Picts.  There  it  is  stated,  that  he  preached  Christ  with 
considerable  success.20  Some  of  the  Scottish  historians  2I  pretend,  that  he 
had  a  message  from  Pope  St.  Celestine  I.  to  arrive  about  a.d.  429,  at 
Fordun,22  and  that  there  he  was  most  hospitably  entertained  by  Eugenius, 
King  of  the  Scots,  and  that  during  many  years  he  spent  among  these  latter 
people  in  Britain,  Palladius  ordained  archbishops  and  bishops,  as  also  sent 
missionaries  to  the  Orkney  Islands.2*  Again,  it  is  related,  that  Dongard, 
successor  of  Eugenius,  was  a  patron  of  his  followers.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  observe,  that  Fordun  was  then  comprised  within  the  country  of  the  Picts  f* 

cient  Life  of  St.  Patrick.      See  Sir  William  p.  49;  Quinta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  lib.  i.,   cap. 

Beiham's  "  Irish  Antiquarian  Researches,"  xxiv.,  xw.,  pp.  48,  49,  andnn.  26,  27,  p.  63; 

Appendix  i.  Sexta  Vita   S.  Patricii,    cap.    xxv.,    p.    70. 

9  Such  is  the  account  given  of  Pledius —  Also,  Septima  Vita  S.  Patricii,  pars,  i ,  cap. 
another  form  of  Palladius' name — in  "The  xxviii.,  xxix.,  p.  123,  and  nn.  20,  21,22, 
Irish  Version  of  the  Historia  Britcnum  of  p.  171. 

Nennius,"  edited   with   a  Translation  and  l6    See     D.     Petrus    Lombardus,    "  De 

Notes  by  Rev.  Dr.  James  Henthorn  Todd,  Regno  Hibernise,  Sanctorum  Insulae,  Com- 

and  by  the  Hon.  Algernon    Herbert,   pp.  mentarius,"  cap.  xiii.,  pp.  61  to  63.     Very 

106,  107.  Rev.  Dr.  Moran's  Edition. 

10  For  several  learned  and  ingenious  re-  f   See   Colyan's  "Trias  Thaumaturga," 
marks  in  reference  to  this  district  and  to  the  Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxv.,  p.  70. 
Palladian    churches,    said     to    have    been  l8  See  Ussher's  "  Britannicarum  Ecclesia- 
founded  within  it,   the  reader  may  consult  rum    Anliquitates,"     cap.    xvi.,    pp.    418, 
the  Rev.  John  Francis  Shearman's   "  Loca  424. 

Patriciana,"  No.  iii.,  pp.  25  to  37.  *»  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's   "Ecclesiastical 

11  The  name  of  this  missionary  is  not  to  History  of  Ireland/'  vol.  i.,  chap,  i.,  sect, 
be  found  in  the  Irish  Calendars.  xvi.,  n.  149,  p.  45. 

,a  There  is  no  mention  oi  his  name,  in  the  20  See    Bishop    Challoner's     "  Britannia 

Irish  Calendars.  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  July  vL 

13  At  the  iodi  of  March,  a  St.  Sylvester  is  8I    Among  these   may   be    classed   John 

to  be  found  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh.  Fordun  and  Hector  Boece. 

See  some  account  of  him,  at  that  date,  in  "  According  to  John  Fordun,  Palladius 

the  Third  Volume  of  this  work,  Art.  i.  arrived  with  a  great  companyin  the  eleventh 

'4  A  feast  has  been  assigned  to  Solonius,  year  of  King  Eugenius'  reign. 

inMarr,  by  Dempster,  and  also  by  Ferrarius,  a3  See  Ussher's  "  Britannicarum  Ecclesia- 

who  follows  him.  rum   Antiquitates,"   cap.   xv.,    pp.    351    to 

's  S<.e  Colgan's   "  Trias   Thaumaturga,"  353. 

Secunda  Vita  S.    Patricii,  cap.  xxiv.,  p.  13,  3*  See   on   this  subject,    the  remarks  of 

and  nn.  32,  33,  34,  p.   18  ;  Quarta  Vita  S.  Chalmers,  in  his  learned  work  "  Caledonia," 

Patricii,  cap.  xxviii.,  p.  38,  andnn.  16 to 21,  vol.  i.,  bookii.,  chap.  vi. 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  75 


nor  was  there  any  Scottish  kingdom  whatever  in  North  Britain,  during  the 
fifth  century. 2s  It  was  only,  about  the  year  839,  that  Kenneth  Mac  Alpin 
established  the  Scottish  denomination  over  the  Picts,  and  that  the  whole  of 
Alban  was  regarded  as  the  United  Kingdom  of  Scotland. 

If  Palladius  escaped  with  his  life  from  Ireland,  and  arrived  amongthe  Britons 
or  Picts;  it  is  thought  to  be  most  probable,  that  Galloway  was  the  place 
where  he  landed  and  died,26  sickness  having  seized  him  in  the  country  of  the 
Cruiihne.2?  One  account28  has  it,  that  when  Palladius  was  forced  to  leave 
Ireland,  he  was  obliged  to  go  round  the  coast  of  Ireland  towards  the  north. 
Then,  he  was  driven  by  a  great  tempest,  until  he  reached  the  extreme  part  of 
the  Modhjiid,  towards  the  south,  where  he  founded  the  church  of  Fordoun 
and  Pledi,29  called  after  him.  According  to  the  Scottish  traditions,3°  St. 
Palladius  arrived  in  Scotland,  during  the  reign  of  Eugene^1  and  he  long 
ministered  at  the  church  of  Fordoun. ^  This  is  now  a  midland  parish,  in 
the  county  of  Kincardine,  where  the  kirk  is  romantically  situated  upon  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Hill  of  Strathfinla,  overhanging  the  mountain  stream  of 
the  Luther. ?3  Near  the  mansion-house  of  Fordoun  are  distinct  vestiges  of  a 
Roman  encampment,  with  the  pretorium.3* 

Among  other  mistakes  in  reference  to  this  saint,  he  has  been  accredited 
with  literary  composition  ;  but,  this  is  chiefly  relying  on  the  statement  of  John 
Bale,35  who  is  charged  by  Ussher,  not  only  with  giving  credence  to  what 
other  writers  have  laid  down  on  such  matters,  but  even  with  conjecturing 
what  might  probably  have  been  written  by  those,  who  are  included  in  his  class 
of  authors.36  Palladius  is  stated  to  have  been  the  author  of  "Vita  Sancti 
Joannis  Chrysostomi,"  in  one  book  ;37  but  this^should  make  him  identical 
with  a  Bishop  of  Helenopolis  similarly  named,  while  the  supposition  is  con- 
tradicted by  Vossius  and  Ussher,  who  expose  that  error.38 

The  particulars  of  St.  Palladius'  labours  in  North  Britain  are  but  imper- 
fectly known.  The  Scottish  historians  generally  call  St.  Servanus  39  his  dis- 
ciple. Him,  they  say,  Palladius  made  a  Bishop,  and  sent  to  preach  in  the 
Isles  of  Orkney.  Moreover,  it  is  stated,  that  St.  Ternan  4°  had  been  Bishop 
of  the  Picts. 4r  But,  these  two  saints  could  not  have  been  Bishops,  in  the 
time  of  St.  Palladius.*2  A  suspicion  seems  to  have  prevailed,  that  St.  Ternan 

2s  Only  in  the  year  504  did  the  Scots  emi-  33  See  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  S.  Gordon's   "  Sco- 

grate  from   Ireland  under  Loarn,  who  was  tichronicon,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  39,  40. 

succeeded  by  his  brother  Fergus.  34  See  "  Imperial  Gazetteer  of  Scotland," 

i6   See    William     F.      Skene's     "Celtic  vol  i.,  p.  665. 

Scotland:  a  History    of  Ancient   Alban,"  35  See  "  Scriptorum    Illustrium    Majoris 

vol.  ii.,  book  ii.,  chap,  i.,  p.  28.  Britannia,  quam  nunc  Angliam  et  Scotiam 

=7  See  Miss  Mary  F.  Cusack's  "  Life  of  St.  vocant,  Catalogus,"  Cent,  xiv.,  Num.  vi. 

Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland,"  Irish  Tri par-  3<5  See  "  Britannicarum  Ecclesiarum  Anti- 

tite  Life,   translated  by   William  M.    Hen-  quitates,"  cap.  xvi.,   p.  423. 

nessy,  M.R.I.A.,  part  i.,  p.  378.                  '  37  See  John  of  Trittenheim's  "Catalogus 

28  The  Scholion,  on  the  Irish  metrical  Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum,"  fol.  xxxiii.  a. 
Life  of  St.  Patrick,  by  his  disciple,  St.  38  See  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  S.  Gordon's  "  Sco- 
Fiech.       See    Colgan's     "Trias    Thauma-  tichronicon,"  vol.  i.,  p.  39. 

turga,"   Prima  Vita  S.    Patricii,  n.    13m,  39  The   feast  of   St.    Servan   or   Serf  is 

p.  5.  usually  assigned  to  the  1st  day  of  July,  where 

29  The  local  name  was  Paldy,  a  contrac-  in  the  present  volume,  some  notices  of  him 
tion  of  Palladius.  are  to  be  found,  Art.  ii. 

30  As  stated  by  John  of  Fordoun,  John  4°  See  account  of  him,  at  the  12th  of  June 
Major,  Hector  Boece  and  John  Lesley.  — the  day  for  his  feast — in  the  Sixth  Volume 

31  Son  to  Fergus  II.  of  this  work,  Art.  ii. 

32  One  of  the  oldest  and  most  authentic  4I  He  appears  to  have  been  identical 
histories  of  Scotland,  and  called  the  "  Sco-  with  the  Irish  St.  Torannon,  or  Torranan, 
tichronicon,"  was  written  by  John  styled  of  venerated  on  the  same  day. 

Fordoun,  who  was  incumbent  of  this  parish  42  According  to  Ussher's  chronology, 

in  1377.  43  See  Venerable  Bede's  "  Historia  Eccle- 


76  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


was  the  same  as  St.  Torannan,  and  that  the  latter  had  been  identical  with  St. 
Palladius,  who  is  said  to  have  been  buried  in  Liconium,  probably  the  old 
name  of  that  place  afterwards  called  Banchory-Ternan.  The  probable  solu- 
tion is,  that  Ternan  or  Terrananus  was  really  a  disciple  of  St.  Palladius,  and 
that  he  brought  the  apostolic  missionary's  relics  either  from  Ireland  or  from 
Galloway  to  his  native  district,  in  the  territory  of  the  southern  Picts,  who  had 
been  converted^  perhaps  not  long  before,  by  St.  Ninian"  of  Candida 
Casa,  and,  as  the  founder  of  the  church  of  Fordun  in  honour  of  St.  Palladius, 
he  had  become  to  some  extent  identified  with  his  patron.45  But,  although 
Terrenanus  might  possibly  have  been  a  disciple  to  the  reputed  Apostle  of  the 
Picts,  yet  Servanus  has  no  well  founded  claim  to  be  regarded  as  possessing 
the  same  character.*6  In  a  Life  of  St.  Kentigern,  it  is  stated,  that  he  was 
received  and  educated  at  Culross  by  Servanus.  Besides,  in  the  Life  of  St. 
Servanus  which  has  has  been  preserved,  there  is  no  mention  made  either  of 
Palladius  or  of  Kentigern  ;  moreover,  the  former  was  a  contemporary  with 
Adamnan,47  while  he  founded  the  church  of  Culross  in  the  reign  of  Brude,*8 
King  of  the  Picts. 

From  all  we  can  learn  or  infer  regarding  him,  the  mission  of  Palladius 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  extended  or  greatly  prolonged  in  Scotland. 
One  account  has  it,*9  that  Augustine  and  Benedict  had  been  in  Britain  with 
him,  after  his  departure  from  Ireland.50  We  are  not  to  accept  as  serious  his- 
tory those  statements  made51,  that  this  early  Scottish  bishop  had  been  sent  to 
Scotland,  chiefly  to  resist  the  Pelagian  heresy,  which  began  to  spread  in  the 
Scottish  church.  At  Fordun  in  the  Mearns — and  said  to  have  been  situated 
In  the  plain  of  Girgin  52 — Palladius  is  thought  to  have  departed  this  life  ; 
while  some  accounts  have  it,  that  he  was  there  crowned  with  martyrdom. 
Most  writers  are  agreed,  that  the  Scottish  Apostle  died  at  Fordun,  where  a  chapel 
dedicated  to  him  is  now  shown  within  the  graveyard.  It  is  locally  believed, 
that  this  chapel  had  been  erected  at  the  time  of  St.  Palladius'  death.  This  is 
a  building  of  very  inconsiderable  dimensions.  The  original  church  is  said 
to  have  sunk,  when  another  was  built  on  its  top.  A  curious  Piscina  is  to  be 
seen  within  the  chapel,"  and  it  is  cut  out  of  a  single  stone,  measuring  2  feet, 
by  18  inches,  the  arch  being  18  inches  high,  by  11  broad.  Having  assumed, 
that  the  great  Irish  Apostle  had  been  born  at  Kilpatrick,  in  Scotland,  Harris 
tells  us,  that  Palladius  died  among  St.  Patrick's  relations.54  This  however  is 
quite  a  gratuitous  supposition.  Assuming  that  St.  Patrick  had  been  born  of 
Christian  parents,  and  in  a  Roman  province  in  the  south  of  Scotland  ;  it  is  not 
likely,  that  he  could  have  had  relatives  at  the  more  northern  Fordun,  and  in 
the  land  of  the  pagan  Picts.55  The  death  of  Palladius  has  been  recorded  at 
a.d.  431,  by  Archbishop  Ussher,50  Walter  Harris  5?  and  other  writers.  Where 
it  is  set  down  at  this  last  date,  a.d.   431,  a  difficulty  must  exist  in  assigning 

siastica  Gentis  Anglorum,"  lib.  i.  Quinta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  lib.  i.,  cap.  xxv.,  pp. 

44  His    feast  was   kept,    on  the  16th   of  48,  49. 

September.  s'    By     Archbishop     Spottiswoode    and 

<s  See  William  F.  Skene's    "  Celtic  Scot-  others, 

land  :  a  History  of  Ancient  Alban,"  vol.  ii.,  $*  The  Irish  form  of  this  name  was  Magh 

book  ii.,  chap,  i.,  p.  30.  Gherginn. 

46  For  want  of  sufficiently  matured  reflec-  53  In  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  S.  Gordon's   "  Sco- 

tion,  however,  we  have  placed  him  as  a  dis  tichronicon,"   an    engraving  of  it  is  intro- 

ciple  of  St.  Palladius,  at  the  1st  clay  of  July,  duced.     See  vol.  i.,  p.  40. 

in  the  present  volume.     See  Art.  ii.  54  See  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  i.,  "Archbishops 

4?  He  died,   on  the   23rd  of  September,  of  Armagh,"  p.  II. 

A.D.  704.  ss  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "Ecclesiastical 

48  He  reigned,  from  A.D.  697  to  706.  History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  chap,   iv.,  sect. 

49  That  of  Probus.  xviii.,  n.  151,  p.  200. 

J°  See   Colgan's   "Trias   Thaumaturga,"  5<s  See  " Britannicarum  Ecclesiarum  And- 


July  6.] 


LIVES  OE  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


77 


St.  Patrick's  mission  among  the  Irish  to  the  early  part  of  432.  According  to 
Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan,*8  it  should  be  incorrect  to  assign  the  death  of  Palladius  to 
a.d.  431,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  that  in  which  he  left  Rome,  for  his 
Irish  mission.  It  would  seem,  however,  to  have  taken  place,  not  earlier  than 
a.d.  432  ;  and,  most  probably,  according  to  some,c9  it  ought  to  be  placed  at 
some  later  year.  The  mission  of  Palladius  to  the  Scots  believing  in  Christ 
has  been  deferred  to  a.d.  433,  by  Matthew  of  Westminster,60 and  by  Matthew 
of  Paris  fl  in  adopting  which  date,  it  may  be  assumed,  his  death  should  be 
referred  to  a  later  year.  About  the  year  450  is  another  period,  to  which  it 
has  been  assigned  f2  but,  it  is  not  probable,  that  Palladius  lived  on  to  the 
year  last-mentioned. 63 

To  the  27th  of  January,64  a.d.  432,  some  writers  have  ascribed  the  death 
of  Palladius. 6s  The  English  Martyrology  and  Ferrarius  notice  a  festival  for 
him,  at  that  date ;  and  which  is  the  one,  said  to  have  found  most  favour  with 
Irish  Calendarists.66  Yet,  his  chief  feast  was  held  on  this  day,  the  6th  of 
July,  according  to  the  Breviary  of  Aberdeen  and  several  of  the  Scottish 
Calendars,  such  as  in  those  of  Arbuthnott,6?  the  Aberdeen  Kalendar,68  and 
Martyrology,e9  Adam  King's  Kalendar,7°  Thomas  Dempster's  Menologium 
Scoticum,?1  Camerarius,?2  as  also  in  the  Scottish  Kalendar  of  1637.73  At  this 
date,  most  writers  of  saints'  Acts,  have  noticed  the  chief  incidents  of  his  life. 
Among  these  may  be  quoted,  Dean  Cressy,74  Bishop  Challenor,75  Rev.  Alban 
Butler, 76  Rev.  Dr.  LanigatV7  Rev.  P.  J.  Carew,78  Rev.  M.  J.  Brenan,  O.S.F.,79 
R.  Chambers,80  and  Les  Petits  Bollandistes.81  Other  festivals  have  been  named 
for  his  death — viz.:  December  15th,82  as  also  the  25th  83 — by  the  English 


quitates,"  Index  Chronologicus,  p.  516. 

57  This  is  the  year  in  which  he  died,  ac- 
cording to  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  i.,  "Arch- 
bishops of  Armagh,"  p.  10. 

58  See  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ire- 
land," vol.  i.,  chap,  i.,  sect,  xvi.,  p.  39,  and 
n.  149,  pp.  44,  45  ;  also  chap,  iv.,  sect, 
xviii.,  p.  198,  and  nn.  151,  153,  pp.  200  to 
202. 

59  Among  these  is  Tillemont,  Le  Sieur  Le 
Nain,  who  discusses  this  matter  in  "Me- 
moirs pour  servir  a  l'Histoire  Ecclesiastique," 
tome  xvi.,  p.  784. 

60  See  "Flores  Historiarum,"  p.  148. 

61  See  "  Chronica  Majora,"  edited  by 
Henry  Richards  Luard,  M.A.,  vol.  i., 
p.   181. 

62  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of  the 
Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints, " 
vol.  vii.,  July  vi. 

63  Yet,  this  statement  is  followed  in  R. 
Chambers'  "  Book  of  Days,"  vol.  ii.,  July  6, 
p.  25. 

6*  At  this  date,  in  the  First  Volume 
of  this  work  is  a  notice  of  that  feast,  at 
Art.  ix. 

65  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "Ecclesiastical 
History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  chap,  i.,  sect, 
xvi.,  n.  149,  p.  45. 

66  See  the  Bollandists' "Acta  Sanctorum," 
tomu'3  ii.,  Julii  vi.  De  S.  Palladio,  Epis.  et 
Conf.  Scotorum  Apostolo,  sect,  i.,  num.  4, 
p.  287. 

67  Thus,  at  ii.  Non.  "  S.  Paladei  Scotorum 
Apostoli  et  Episcopi." — Bishop  Forbes' 
"  Kalendars  of  Scottish  Saints,"  p.  102. 


63  Thus,  at  Pridie  Non.  "  Palladii  Epis- 
copi Confessoris  Apostoli  Scotorum." — 
Ibid.,  p.  118. 

69  Thus :  « Pridie  N.  Julii.  In  Scotia 
Sancti  Palladii  Scotorum  Apostoli,"  &c. — 
Ibid.,  133. 

70  Thus  :  "  S.  Padie  or  Palladius  apostile 
of  Scotland  send  be  Pape  ccelestine  ye  first 
vnder  Eugenius  2.     423." — Ibid.,  p.  156. 

71  Thus  :  "  In  Mernia  Palladii  Diaconi 
S.  R.  E.  Cardinalis  Scotorum  Apostoli  a  S. 
Ccelestino  papa  missi,  ut  Scotos,  diu  antea 
in  Christum  credentes,  a  Pelngiana  peste  in 
Anglia  grassante,  tutaretur.  K.  B.  B.  T." — 
Ibid.,  p.  205. 

72  Thus  :  "  6  Die.  Sanctus  Palladius 
Episcopus  et  Scotorum  velut  Apostolus  mis- 
sus a  Ccelestino  Romano  Pontifice  in  Sco- 
tiam." — Ibid.,  p.  238. 

73  Thus  :  "6  I  e  I  Prid.  No.  |  Palladius." 
— Ibid.,  p.  253. 

74  See  "Church  History  of  Brittany," 
book  ix.,  chap,  iii.,  pp.  172  to  174. 

75  See  "A  Memorial  of  British  Piety," 
p.  101. 

76  See  "  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs  and 
other  principal  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  vi. 

77  See  "Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ire- 
land," vol.  i.,  chap,  i.,  sects,  xv.,  xvi.,  pp. 
33  to  47- 

78  See  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ire- 
land," chap,  ii.,  pp.  30  to  35. 

"  See  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ire- 
land," chap,  i.,  pp.  5  to  7. 

80  See  "Book  of  Days,"  vol.  ii.,  July  6, 
p.  25. 


78  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


Calendars  and  by  some  writers.  At  none  of  the  foregoing  days,  however,  is 
the  name  of  Palladius  to  be  found  in  the  Roman  Martyrology,  and  it  is 
omitted,  likewise,  from  our  best  known  Irish  Calendars.  Again,  we  are 
informed,  that  St.  Patrick  soon  heard  of  the  Scottish  missionary's  death,8* 
although  then  living  at  Auxerre,  in  Burgundy.  This  was  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Augustine,  Benedict  and  some  others,  who  had  left  Ireland  with 
Palladius.8*  This  news  they  brought  while  St.  Patrick  was  in  Euboria.  As 
to  his  having  got  that  news  at  Auxerre,  it  is  not  worth  controverting,  unless 
indeed,  one  could  say  that  Eboria  and  Auxerre  were  the  same  place.86  St. 
Patrick  could  not  have  got  the  account  confirming  the  death  of  Palladius  until 
about  a  month  after  its  occurrence;  accordingly,  his  preparations  for  going  to 
Rome,  the  journey  thither,  and  his  proceedings  there,  must  all  be  comprised 
within  the  time  which  elapsed,  between  the  middle  of  January  and  the  latter 
end  of  March. 87  Being  certified,  regarding  Palladius'  death,  the  Pope 
alluded  to  appointed  St.  Patrick  to  succeed  him,  in  that  charge  of  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  the  Irish  nation. 

During  the  early  Christian  ages  in  Scotland,  pilgrimages  were  made  to 
Fordoun,  in  order  to  obtain  spiritual  and  temporal  favours,  through  the  inter- 
cession of  St.  Palladius.  The  feast  of  the  saint,  on  the  6th  of  July,  appears 
to  have  been  held  at  Fordoun  with  great  solemnity.  This  probably  gave 
rise  to  the  Padie88  Fair,  which  is  still  commemorated  in  that  neighbourhood, 
and  on  the  same  day.8?  Within  the  chapel  of  St.  Palladius,  the  bones  of 
that  saint  are  said  to  be  deposited,9°  and  in  a  niche,  towards  the  east  end  of 
the  building.  King  Kenneth  III.  of  Scotland  was  killed  a.d.  995, 9I  in  that 
neighbourhood^2  while  he  was  passing  to  or  from  the  shrine  of  St.  Palladius, 
to  which,  among  other  shrines,  he  went,  in  order  to  perform  penance  for  the 
part  he  had  in  the  assassination  of  Dufifus,93  which  happened  at  Dnnsinoen.94 
We  are  informed,  by  Hector  Boethius,95  that  St.  Palladius'  relics  were  kept 
at  Fordun,  in  his  days.  It  is  stated,  moreover,  that  those  remains  had  been 
enshrined  by  William  Schevez,  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's,  a.d.  1494.  They 
were  deposited  in  a  silver  shrine,  set  with  diamonds.  It  is  thought,  also,  that 
to  this  period  the  oldest  part  of  St.  Palladius'  chapel  at  Fordoun  belongs. 
According  to  tradition,  that  rich  shrine  was  afterwards  stolen,  by  the  sacrile- 


81   See    "Vies  des   Saints,"    tome  viii.,  pose,  that  this  Tope  could  not  attend  to  the 

vi*  Jour  de  Juillet.  business  of  consulting  St.  Patrick  until  near 

8i  See  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  i.,  "  Archbishops  to  the  very  day  of  his  death, 

of    Armagh,"    p.    io.      Also,   O'Flaherty's  88  This  is  the  Scottish  abbreviation  for  the 

"  Ogygia  Vindicated,"  chap.  xvi.  name  of  Palladius. 

8->  Hoh  in  the  year  431,  according  to  Rev.  8'   See    Bishop    Forbes'    u  Kalendars    of 

Dr.  Lankan,  in  his  "  Ecclesiastical  History  Scottish  Saints,"  p.  429. 

of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  chap,  i.,  sect,  xvi.,  n.  149,  »°  According  to    A.   Jervise's   interesting 

p.45.  paper,  No.  III.    Notices  of  the  localities  of 

84  See    Harris'    Ware,   vol.   i.,     "Arch-  the   Sculpture  1   Stone    Monuments    at    St. 
bishops  of  Armagh,"  p.  11.  Vigeans,  Incbbrayoch,  Pitmuies,  and  Men- 

85  See   Colgan's    "Tiias   Thaumaturga,"  muir  in    Angus,     and    of   Fordoun   in    the 
Quinta  Vita    S.  Tatricii,  lib.  i.,  cap.  xxv.,  M earns. 

p.  48.  »»  See  William  F.  Skene's  "  Celtic  Scot- 

86  Independently  of  a   great  difference   in  land  :  a  History  of  Ancient  Alban,"  vol.  i., 
the  names,  this  should  be  in  direct  opposition  book  i.,  chap,  vii.,  p.  380. 

to  Probus  and  to  other  writers.     For  these  9*  The  Fordoun  Stone  is  said  to  have  been 

often  mention  Auxerre,  under  its  own  name  raised   as   a  memorial  of  his  death.     This 

of  Antissiodorum.     See  Rev.   Dr.  Lanigan's  occurred  through   the  stratagem  of  Finella, 

"  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  wife  to  the  Thane  of  the  Mearns. 

chap,  iv.,  sect,  xviii.,  p.  198,  and  n.    151,  »*   See    "Proceedings  of  the   Society   of 

p.  200.  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,"  vol.   ii.,  pp.  464, 

8?  Pope  Celestine  I.  died,  on  the  6th  of  465. 

April,  a.d.  432.      Now,  we  are  not  to  sup-  »♦  See  William  F.  Skene's  "  Chronicles  of 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  79 


gious  Knight  of  Pitarron,  from  which  time  it  is  said,  that  the  family  fortunes 
of  the  Wisharts  began  to  decline."6  In  the  year  1886,  a  colossal  statue  of  St. 
Palladius,  first  Bishop  of  the  Scots,  was  placed  upon  a  pedestal  prepared  for 
it,  fully  thirty  feet  from  the  ground,  outside  the  south  transept  of  an  ornate 
new  church  at  Drumtochty,  near  Fordoun.97  There  tradition  says  the  saint 
in  question  lived  and  died,  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century.98 

The  world  worships  success,  and  often  for  no  better  reason  do  men  become 
distinguished  in  it ;  but  the  true  heroes  of  Christianity  love  to  encounter 
adversities,  when  knowing  they  engage  on  the  field  of  duty,  and  that  the 
Almighty  proves  his  faithful  servants  here,  only  to  crown  them  hereafter.  We 
should  learn,  however,  to  disregard  human  estimates,  which  mistake  temporal 
fortune  for  a  real  good,  while  life  eternal  is  the  true  reward  for  the  close  of  a 
virtuous  career. 


ARTICLE    II.— ST.    DARERCA,   OR  ST.   MONINNE,   VIRGIN,  OF  CILL- 

TSLEIBHE,  NOW  K1LLEAVY,  OF  SLIABH  CUILLIN,  COUNTY 

OF  ARMAGH. 

[FIFTH  OR  SIXTH  CENTURY.] 

CHAPTER     I. 

INTRODUCTION — WRITERS  OF  THE  ACTS  OF  ST.  DARERCA  OR  MONINNE — HER  FAMILY 
AND  BIRTH—  BAPTIZED,  CONFIRMED  AND  VEILED  BY  ST.  PATRICK — SHE  IS  CALLED 
UPON  TO  FORM  AN  ASSOCIATION  OF  PIOUS  FEMALES — UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF 
ST.  IBAR — SHE  VISITS  ST.  BRIGID — HER  CONGREGATION  AT  ARDCONAIS — THIS 
PLACE   SHE   LEAVES,   AND   VISITS   ST.    BRIGID   A   SECOND   TIME. 

To  spend  a  life  in  vanity  and  exterior  adornment  of  the  person  is  the 
occupation  of  many  young  and  accomplished  ladies.  We  are  told  of  an 
instance,1  when  a  certain  noble  woman,  who  although  living  near  the  church 
used  to  put  the  clergy  and  humble  people  out  of  patience,  while  they  waited 
her  idleness  in  dressing.  While  looking  in  her  glass  one  such  Sunday,  she 
suddenly  saw  in  the  reflection  a  demon  behind  her  so  ugly  and  staring,  that 
she  was  almost  frightened  out  of  her  wits.  Afterwards,  she  thanked  God  for 
having  given  her  such  a  lesson,  while  it  corrected  her  passion  for  dress,  and 
made  her  punctual  in  attending  Divine  service.2  The  religious  habit  requires 
not  such  loss  of  time  to  arrange,  and  the  religious  life  is  ever  active  to  antici- 
pate the  hours  for  praying  to  God.    Far  different  are  the  desires  and  pursuits 

the  Picts  and  Scots,"  pp.  175,  289.  ss  This  figure  of  Palladius  stands  nine  feet 

95  SeeHistoriaeScotorum,'  lib.  vii.,fol.  128.  in  height,  representing  a  bearded  and  some- 

96  See  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  S.  Gordon's  "  Scoti-  what   rugged-looking,    low-mitred    bishop; 
chronicon,"  vol.  i.,  p.  40.  who,   with  a  flowing  cope  thrown  over  his 

57   This  statue   was  the  gift  of  James  S.  broad  shoulders,  grasps  his  ornamental  ham- 

Gammell,  Esq.,  of  Drumtochty  Castle,  Kin-  mered  copper  crozier  in  his  left  hand,  as  he 

cardineshire.     It  is  sculptured  from  a  block  raises  his  right  in  the  act  of  giving  the  apos- 

of  brown  Portland  stone,  and  it  is  boldly  tolic  blessing.     The  statue  is  the  work  of 

modelled  to  suit   the  position  it  stands  in.  Mr.   Harry  Hems,  of  Exeter.     See   "  The 

The  stone  the  sacred  edifice  is  built  of  is  Irish    Builder"    of    December  1st,   1886, 

raised  near  Brechin,  and  this  warm-coloured  vol.  xxviii.,  No.  647,  p.  324. 

material  harmonizes  and  yet  contrasts  ad-  Article    II. — Chapter    i.—  l    In    Le 

mirably  with  the  somewhat  cold  grey  tone  of  Livre  du  Chevalier  de  la  Tour  Landry,  this 

the  sculptured  statue,  story  is  told. 


8o  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


of  the  votaries  of  pleasure  and  fashion,  from  those  pure  aspirations  and  self- 
denying  practices,  which  draw  pious  recluses  from  worldly  vanities  and 
deceits  to  the  desert;  where,  with  hearts  fixed  on  the  delights  of  heaven,  all 
was  not  solitude  in  their  beloved  retreats. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  present  holy  woman,  such  instances  of  self-sacrifice 
are  numerous,  even  from  the  earliest  periods  of  our  national  church.       Some 
confusion  seems  to  have  arisen,  however,  when  the  present   St.  Darerca  has 
been  confounded  with  the  religious  sister  of  our  great  Apostle  St.  Patrick, 
and  who  was  similarly  named.  Again,  as  we  have  seen  at  the  preceding  day, 
under  her  alias  name  of  Moninna,  she  has  been  confounded  with  a  St.  Mod- 
wen  or  Modwenna,  who  is  supposed  to  have  flourished  in  the  ninth  century. 
Having  there  made  an  effort,  to  discriminate  between  these  latter  persons  ; 
we  are  obliged  to  depend  much  on  conjecture,    as   to   those  particulars, 
occurring  in  the  Acts  already  mentioned,  some  of  them  referring  very  possibly 
to  the  present  saint.  As  may  be  seen  in  the  sequel,  however,  we  are  obliged  to 
admit  chronological  and  other  difficulties  of  statement,  while  endeavouring 
to  investigate  her  period  and  career.     The  few  reflected  traditions  or  lights 
we  have  from  independent  sources  rather  serve  to  dazzle  and  perplex  than  to 
elucidate  her  history.  We  know,  however,  that  a  saint  called  Moninnehad  been 
venerated  on  the  6th  of  July,  and  that  her  place  was  in  the  northern  parts  of 
Ireland.     This  is  stated,  in  the  Feilire  of  St.  ^Engus.3     Some  commentaries 
annexed  * — although  containing  traditional  information — are  hardly  to  be 
regarded  as  altogether  authentic.     Colgan  intended  and  also  promised  s  the 
publication  of  Acts,  illustrating  the  biography  of  St.  Darerca,  or  Moninna,6 
at  the  6th  of  July. i     The  Bollandists  have  published  two  different  Acts  of 
St.  Darerca  or  Monynna,  virgin,  at  the  6th  of  July.8     One  of  these  is  taken 
from  an  Irish  Manuscript,   belonging  to  the  Jesuit  College  at  Salamanca,9 
but  its  author's  name  has  not  been  discovered.     Its  date  is  unknown,  yet  it 
is  thought  to  be  of  some  considerable  antiquity.      This  is  followed  by  a  less 
reliable  Life,10  attributed  to  Conchubran,11  as  already  stated,  at  the  preceding 
date.      There,  too,  we  have  endeavoured  to  deal  with  both,  in  trying  to  dis- 
criminate between  the  Monenna,  venerated  on  the  5th  of  this  month,  and 
the  Monenna,  whose  feast  has  been  set  down,  for  the  present  day.      Both  l* 

*  See  Alexander  Vance's  Romantic  Epis-  6   Where  her    name  occurs  on  the    list, 

odes  of  Chivalrie  and  Mediaeval  France,  pp.  published  by  Charles  MacDonnell,  Esq.,  as 

292,  293.  "  S.  Darercaequae  et  Moninna,  6  Jul." 

3  In    the    "Leabhar   Breac  "    copy,   the  7  See  "  Catalogus  Actuum  Sanctorum  quae 

following  stanza   occurs  at   this   date,    and  MS.  habentur,  ordine  Mensium  et  Dierum." 

it   has  been  translated  by  Whitley  Stokes,  8  See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"     tomus    ii., 

LL.  D.  : —  Julii  vi.  De  S.  Darerca  seu  Monynna  Virg.  in 

Hibernia,  Scotia,  vel  Anglia,  pp.  200  to  312. 

monnroe  m  Cflebi  9  The  Bollandists  have  published  this,  in 

Cuibrro  bacAin  Aige  four   cnapters,    containing    forty-five   para- 

Sabaip  buAit>  geb  gUvme  graphs. 

Siuur*  Tttuine  m-Aipe.  ,0  Evidently,  it  has  been  interpolated  from 

some  original,  and  by  an  ignorant  scribe. 
"  Moninne  of  the  mountain  of  Cuilenn  "  Taken  from  a  Codex,  belonging  to  the 
(Slieve  Guliion)  was  a  fair  pillar  :  she  gained  Cottonian  Library,  and  classed  as  Cleopatra 
a  bright  victory  of  purity  :  (she  was)  a  sister  A.  2.  This  is  preceded  by  a  Prologue  of  the 
of  great  Mary  (the  virgin)." — "Transactions  author,  and  it  has  been  arranged  in  eight 
of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manu-  chapters,  comprising  seventy-eight  para- 
script  Series,  vol.  i.,  parti.  On  the  Calen-  graphs, 
dar  of  Oengus,  p.  cix.  "  In  the  following  notes;  we  shall  quote 

4  See  ibid.,  p.  cxvi.  them  as  the  Salamancan  or  First  Life  of  St. 

5  See  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Quinta  Ap-  Modwenna,    and  as    Conchubran's  or    the 
pendix   ad    Acta    S.   Patricii,   cap.    xxiii.,  Second  Life  of  St.  Modwenna. 

p.  270.  ,3  See  "  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs  and 


July  6.]  LIVES  OE  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  81 


have  been  edited,  by  Father  John  Pinius,  S.J.,  who  has  added  notes,  and  a 
previous  commentary  in  four  paragraphs.  At  this  date,  the  name  of  St. 
Moninna,  virgin,  appears  in  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  work. '3  Some  notices  of 
this  saint  are  offered,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan,1*  but  with  the  doubts  inseparable 
from  a  judicious  consideration  of  those  accounts,  which  have  come  down  to 
our  times.  There  is  allusion,  likewise,  to  Sainte  Darerque,  also  called 
Monynne,  virgin,  in  Les  Petits  Bollandistes.'S  There  is  a  very  interesting 
account  of  this  pious  virgin — who  is  called  Modwenna  or  Moyenna  in  the 
Scottish  Calendars — given  in  the  valuable  work  of  Bishop  Forbes  ;l6  but,  he 
is  of  opinion,  that  we  have  only  enough  of  evidence  to  obtain  a  very  clear 
impression  regarding  a  remarkable  Irish  saint,  who  becomes  as  it  were  a  con- 
necting link  between  the  three  great  wonder-workers  of  Ireland,  and  the 
circumstances  of  whose  life  may  be  harmonized  to  suit  one  individual. 

This  saint  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  sister  or  supposed  sister  of 
St.  Patrick, x7  and  whose  feast  was  held  on  the  22nd  of  March.18  As  both 
were  named  Darerca,  and  as  both  are  supposed  to  have  flourished  in  the  fifth 
century,  it  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  such  confusion,  especially  as  so  many 
extravagant  statements  have  been  made  regarding  them.  However,  the  cir- 
cumstance of  the  present  holy  person  being  regarded  as  a  virgin,  and  the 
other  having  been  a  matron,  ought  to  afford  grounds  sufficient  for  distinguish- 
ing them.  About  the  progeny  of  St.  Darerca,  who  is  called  the  sister  of  St. 
Patrick,  ancient  accounts  differ,  and  various  controversies  have  arisen  ;  for, 
some  writers  assign  certain  sons  to  Darerca,  while  other  biographers  state, 
they  were  the  children  of  Liemania,  another  sister.  A  few  of  our  ancient 
genealogists  say,  that  Lupita  had  been  a  mother,  while  other  authors  con- 
sider her  to  have  remained  a  virgin.  Richella — also  called  Cinne-noem  or 
holy  Cinne — is  said  to  have  been  of  royal  parentage,  receiving  the  name 
Ricinne  or  Richinne  (royal  Cinne),  and  hence  the  name  lapsed  into  Richella. 
She  is  related  to  have  had  a  number  of  sons,  who  became  bishops,  priests  or 
deacons.^  According  to  some  accounts,  Darerca  was  married  twice ;  her 
first  husband  being  Conis,  a  Briton,  while  her  second  is  named  Restitutio,  a 
Lombard.  Yet,  in  some  Irish  accounts,  he  is  styled  Hua-baird,  or  "son  of 
a  bard  f  and,  hence,  it  is  thought,  through  some  mistake,  Lombard  must 
have  been  substituted.20  Darerca  is  said  to  have  died  a.d.  517,"  or  518.23 
Yet,  it  is  not  easy  to  believe,  that  a  sister  of  St.  Patrick  could  have  survived 
to  this  period,^  when  we  recollect,  that  the  Irish  Apostle  is  supposed  to  have 


other  principal  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  vi.  Druimdubhain,   in  the   county  of  Tyrone. 

14  See  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,"  Her  Acts  are  given  by  Colgan,  at  the  1st  of 
vol.  iii.,  chap,    xvii.,  sect,  ix.,  pp.  38,  39,  February. 

and  nn.  113  to  119,  pp.  40  to  42.  20  But  the  name  Restitutus  seems  a  still 

15  See   "Vies    des   Saints,"    tome   viii.,  more  singular  one  to  have  been  imposed  on 
vie  Tour  de  Juillet,  p.  65.  the  son  ot  an  Irish  bard.     See  Dr.  Lanigan's 

I<rSee    "Kalendars   of  Scottish    Saints,"  "Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.; 

p.  4°4-  chap,  iii.,  sect,  xviii.,  p.  126. 

**  See  Archbishop  Ussher's  "  Britannica-  2I  The    "Annals   of  the   Four  Masters" 

rum  Ecclesiarum  Antiquitates,"  cap.  xvii.,  state,  that  Darerca  of  Cill-Sleibhe-Cuilinn 

pp.  429,  430.  died  on  the  6th  of  July,  a.d.  517.     See  Dr. 

18  See  some  notices  of  her,  in  the  Third  O'Donovan's   Edition,  vol.  i.,  pp.  168,  169. 
Volume  of  this  work,  at  that  date,  Art.  ii.  She  is  said  to  have  lived  nine  score,   or  180 

19  Yet,  strange  to  say,  among  these  sons  years. 

we  find  persons,  who  lived  at  very  different  "  Quies  Darercse,  quae  Moninne  nominata 

periods,   and  who  were  Irish,  both  on  the  est." — Ussher's   "  Bntannicarum    Ecclesia- 

father's  and  mother's  side ;  such  as  Kieran,  rum  Antiquitates,"  cap.  xvii.,  p.  826. 

Brendan,     Maccarthen,      Columb,    Loam,  a3  TJssher  has  a  suspicion,  that  Darerca  of 

Lurach,  with  others.     Cinne  is  said  to  have  Slieve  Cullen  may  be  the  same  as  that  one 

flourished  about  a.d.  480,  in  the  nunnery  of  reported  to  have  been  St.  Patrick's  sister. 


82  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


passed  his  prime  of  life  in  a.d.  432.  Moreover,  Darerca  24  is  thought  to  have 
been  confounded  with  Liemania,  and  some  effort  has  been  made  to  account  for 
her  bearing  this  double  name.25  Lupita  and  Tigrida,  her  sisters,  are  said  to 
have  wove  and  prepared  linen  cloth  for  religious  uses.26  While  manifesting 
the  high  esteem  entertained  for  Ussher's  erudition  as  a  historian,"*  Colgan 
assumes  to  correct  him  for  confounding  Darerca,  St.  Patrick's  relation,  with 
St.  Monenna  or  Modwenna  of  Kill-slebhe. 

The  pedigree  of  St.  Darerca  or  Moninne  is  drawn  by  twelve  generations28 
from  Fiache  Araidhe,  King  of  Ulster,  who  flourished,  in  the  year  236, 29  and 
who  reigned  ten  years  in  Emania.  He  had  a  son  Cas,  father  of  Fedlimid, 
father  of  Imchadh,  father  of  Ross,  father  of  Lugaidh,  father  of  Crunn  Badhraoi, 
father  of  Eochaidh,  father  of  Conall,  father  of  Lughaidh,  father  of  Lilcan,  father 
of  Mochta,  who  was  the  father  of  Darerca  or  Monynne.  She  sprung  from 
the  race  of  Irial,  son  to  Conall  Cearnach,  according  to  one  authority.  Her 
father  is  said  to  have  been  a  good  man,  named  Motteus  3°  or  Maugtheus.31 
While  one32  of  her  ancient  Lives — and  that  apparently  the  most  reliable — 
makes  him  a  person  of  no  particular  distinction ;  another  33  states,  that  he 
was  a  prince  over  that  territory  surrounding  Armagh.  The  name  of  her  father 
is  more  generally  written  Mocteus34  or  Mochta.ss  Her  mother  is  called 
Coman,36  the  noble  daughter  of  a  king  named  Dalbranaith,  who  ruled  over 
all  the  territory  from  Duvelin  to  Regunleth.37  This  pious  couple  lived  at 
the  time,  when  St.  Patrick  had  been  sent  by  Pope  St.  Celestine  I.  to  preach  in 
the  northern  parts  of  Ireland. 38  Hence,  we  may  infer,  that  their  daughter 
Monynna  had  been  born  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  filth  century.  For  when 
the  Irish  Apostle  visited  their  part  of  the  country,  where  he  was  hospitably 
received,  several  of  the  inhabitants  flocked  to  hear  his  preaching,  and  these 
became  converts.  Among  others,  who  desired  baptism  at  his  hands,  was  the 
present  saint,  then  only  a  child.  It  seems  likely,  that  her  parents  became 
Christians,  also,  for  we  are  informed,  that  they  bestowed  a  religious  care  on 
their  daughter.  She  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  the  plain  of  Coba — also  known 
as  Magh  Cobha39— and  in  the  reign  of  Conaille.«°     That  district  surrounding 

See    ibid.,     Index     Chronologicus,     A.D.,  proper  names  written,  that  it  is  difficult  to 

Dxvm.,  p.   526.     Colgan  has  laboured  to  divine  their  just  interpretation, 

distinguish    them.        See    "Acta    Sancto-  32  The  Salamancan   or   First  Life  of  St. 

rum     Hiberniae,"     xxii.     Martii,     Vita    S.  Modwenna,  cap.  i.,  num.  1 

Darercae,  pp.  7 16 to  719,  with  notes.  Colgan  33  That  attributed  to  Conchubran, 

assigns  the  22nd  of  March  for  her  festival.  He  34  In  the  scholion,  appended  to  the  day  for 

reserves  the6th  of  July,  for  the  other  Darerca.  her  feast  in  the  "  Leabhar  Breac"  copy  of 

24  Marianus  O'Gorman  at  the  22nd  of  the  "  Feilire"  of  St.  -^ngus,  her  pedigree  is 
March  calls  her  a  virgin.  See  Colgan'l  thus  made  out  from  an  Irish  source : 
"Acta  Sanctorum  Hibernian,"  p.    719.  Moninne  daughter  of  Mochta,  son  of  Lilach, 

25  See  ibid.,  p.  718.  son  of  Lugaid,  son  of  Rossa,  son  of  Imchad, 

26  "  Sanctae  Lupita,  Tigrida  et  Crumtheris  son  of  Fedlimid,  son  of  Cas,  son  of  Fiacha 
textrices  et  sacrorum  linteorum  erant  confec-  Araide,  son  ot  Oengus  Goibniu.  See 
trices." — "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Vita  Tri-  — "  Transactions  of  tht  Royal  Irish,  Aca- 
partita,  lib.  hi.,  cap.  xcviii.,  p.  167.  demy,"    Irish   Manuscript    Series,     vol.  i., 

*7  See  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hibernice,"  xxii.  port  i.     On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus.     By 

Martii,  Vita  S.  Darerca?,  n.  7,  p.  719.  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.,  p.  cxvi. 

28  See  Bishop  Forbes' "Kalendars  of  Scot-  3S  She  is  made  the  daughter        an  Irish 

tish  Saints,"  p.  405.  King    Naugthei — evidently   a    mistake  for 

^  See  Rev.  Dr.  O'Conor's  "  Rerum  Hi-  Mochthei — by  Choman,   in  Capgrave's  Life 

bernicarum  Scriptores,"  tomus    ii.,    Tiger-  of  this  saint. 

nachi  Annales.  3<5  According  to  the  Life  by  Conchubran, 

3°  According  to  the  Salamancan  Life.  cap.  i.,  num.  3. 

31  So  is  he  named  in  the  Life  by  Conchu-  3?  To  this  is  added  by  Conchubran  :  "  Nam 

bran,  who  adds  "regentem  Oveahhulue  et  et  ilia  in  finem,   optimam  vitam  duxit  per 

totamterram  in  circuitu  Hardmachaa  Luue  quindecim  annos." 

usque  ad  Uulester,  prosapise  cognationis  Hi?  38  This  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been 

leth,"  &c.     So  incorrectly  are  the  foregoing  in  the  year  432. 


July  6.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


83 


the  Hill  of  Forhart,  in  the  county  of  Louth,  is  alluded  to,  as  having  been  the 
place  in  which  she  was  born.  The  present  holy  woman  is  said  to  have  been  first 
known  by  the  name  of  Darerca,41  if  we  are  to  credit  the  accounts  of  some  old 
Irish  rhymers. 42  Contrary  to  the  statement  contained  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Tallagh,  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  *3  declare,  however,  that  the  first  name 
of  this  St.  Darerca  was  Moninne.  According  to  an  Irish  comment  on  the 
Leabhar  Breac  copy  of  the  Feilire  of  ^Engus,  Sarbile44  was  a  name  this  holy 
virgin  bore,  and  a  legendary  story  ^  is  told  to  account  for  the  change  of  her 
name  to  Moninne.     Another  version  of  this  story  likewise  prevails.*6 

It  is  stated,  in  one  of  her  Lives,  that  by  the  imposition  of  hands,  the  Irish 
Apostle  administered  confirmation  on  her.  He  had  an  interior  admonition, 
likewise,  that  his  new  convert  was  destined  to  lead  a  holy  life,  and  he 
bestowed  a  special  benediction.  St.  Modwenna  having  thus  been  converted 
through  the  preaching  of  St.  Patrick,  also  received  the  veil*?  at  his  hands.*8 
She  is  thus  classed  among  his  disciples. *9  Early  in  life,  she  took  the  vow  of 
chastity.  She  was  veiled  near  the  pool  of  Briugis,  which  is  said  to  mean 
abundance.  This  appears  to  have  become  a  place  of  pilgrimage,  in  after 
time.  The  Irish  Apostle  admonished  his  convert,  to  persevere  in  her  angelic 
state  of  life,  and  to  associate  with  herself  other  pious  women,  who  were  to  learn 
the  fear  and  worship  of  God  under  her  direction,  and  thus  learn  to  accomplish 
his  work  in  the  religious  state.  Then,  to  the  charge  of  a  holy  priest,  residing  near 
her  parents'  residence,  was  she  committed,  in  order  that  she  might  learn  the 
Psalms.  Under  his  teaching,  she  remained  for  some  time.     Being  a  person 


39  The  Ui  Ethach  Cobha  lived  in  the 
southern  parts  of  the  county  of  Down. 

40  Known  likewise  as  Conaille  Muir- 
themne. 

41  See  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly's  "Martyrology  of 
Tallagh,"  p.  xxviii. 

42  Some  of  their  stanzas  are  to  be  found  as 
scholia  to  the  Leabhar  Breac  copy  of  the 
"Feilire"  of  St.  ^Engus,  and  they  are  thus 
translated  into  English,  by  Dr.  Whitley 
Stokes,  LL.D.  :— 

"  Nine  score  years  together 

According   to  rule  without  warmth, 

Without  folly,  without  crime,  without 
fault 

Was  the  age  of  Moninde, 

(The  name)  'Mo-ninde'  was  given  to 
her 

To  the  holy  virgin,  pious,  with  splen- 
dour 

'Mo-nanna  '  (was)  her  gracious  name 

Which  the  maidens  used  to  say. 

Or  from  this  the  name  was  said 

Of  the  nun  for  her  appellation 

From    Nine    the    poet    (the    better 
thereof) 

Who  besought  her  for  her  prayer 

I  will  tell  it  out  to  you 

Her  own  name  usually, 

1  Darerca  '  for  a  time  adhered  to  her 

Till  she  got  the  agnomen, 

Nine  score." 

— "  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish    Aca- 
demy," Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i. 


On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus.,  p.  cxvi. 

43  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  Edition,  vol.  i., 
pp.  168,  169. 

44  However,  in  the  Life  of  St.  Moduenna, 
attributed  to  Conchubran,  this  name  is  given 
to  one  of  her  disciples,  who  is  also  called 
Orbile. 

45  This  Irish  comment  is  thus  translated 
into  English  by  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes  : — "Mo- 
ninne, etc.,  i.e.,  Moninne  of  Slieve  Gullion, 
and  Sarbile  was  her  name  previously.  Or 
Darerca  was  her  name  at  first.  But  a  cer- 
tain dumb  poet  fasted  with  her,  and  the  first 
thing  he  said  [after  being  miraculously  cured 
of  his  dumbness]  was  minnin.  Hence  the 
nun  was  called  Mo-ninde,  and  the  poet  him- 
self Nine  Ecis." — "Transactions  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript 
Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.  On  the  Calendar  of 
Oengus,  p.  cxvi. 

46  Thus  are  we  told  :  "  'Moninne,'  i.e., 
1  My-nindach  '  the  nuns  used  to  call  her,  and 
of  Ui  Echach  of  Ulster  was  she.'  "  Again, 
it  is  said,  "  Monine  quasi  Mo-nanna,"  was 
the  name  given  by  her  nuns,  apparently  one 
expressing  affection. 

47  See  Matthsei  Parisiensis  Monachi  Sancti 
Albani,  "  Chronica  Majora,"  edited  by 
Henry  Richards  Luard,  M.A.,  vol.  i., 
p.  181. 

48  Colgan  classes  St.  Moninnea  or  Darerca, 
Abbess  of  Kill-slebhe,  among  the  virgins 
veiled  by  St.  Patrick. 

49  See  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Quinta 
Appendix  ad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiii., 
p.  270. 


84  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SA/JVTS.  [July  6. 


of  sound  understanding  and  of  retentive  memory,  she  readily  imbibed  the 
precepts  of  religion  and  practised  its  injunctions.  She  associated  with 
herself  eight  virgins  and  one  widow.  The  widow  had  a  baby  son,  named 
Luger,  who  was  adopted  by  Darerca.  Afterwards,  he  became  a  bishop,  and 
he  was  otherwise  distinguished.50  It  is  said,  as  in  her  nation,  no  house 
had  yet  been  founded  for  religious  women,  that  the  saint  lived  for  some 
time  with  her  parents.  However,  finding  social  intercourse  with  them  and 
her  relatives  to  be  a  cause  for  distraction  and  a  weakening  of  the  religious 
spirit,  she  resolved  on  leaving  them,  and  on  seeking  a  home,  whence  the 
ways  and  conversation  of  worldlings  should  be  rigorously  excluded. 

About  this  time,  St.  Ibar  is  stated  to  have  lived  in  the  Western  Isles  of 
Ireland,  and  thither  she  repaired  with  her  nuns.  They  remained  for  a  long 
time  under  his  discipline.  At  length,  the  holy  Bishop  went  to  the  southern 
part  of  Ireland,  where  he  took  up  a  permanent  residence.  His  religious 
daughters  again  followed  him.  At  the  Island  of  Beg  Ere  or  Little  Ireland,  in 
Wexford  Harbour,  St.  Darerca  and  her  nuns  were  under  the  guidance  of  St. 
Ibar.  Hearing  of  her  extraordinary  virtues,  they  visited  St.  Brigid,51  in  Lein- 
ster.  Under  her  rule,  and  partaking  of  her  hospitality,  they  remained  for 
some  time.  St.  Darerca  was  appointed  portress  to  the  hospital,  and  while 
in  this  situation,  her  humility  and  charity  were  approved  by  all.  The  Almighty 
even  bestowed  on  her  the  gift  of  healing  infirm  and  possessed  persons.  She 
was  regarded  as  such  a  benefactress  to  the  poor,  that  numbers  sought  relief 
from  her,  and  they  returned  loaded  with  her  bounties.  When  some  of  the 
sisters  complained,  that  she  gave  too  lavishly,  reserving  little  for  their  con- 
ventual wants,  she  returned  for  answer,  that  if  they  had  firm  faith  in  Christ, 
and  obtained  food  and  clothing,  it  should  be  sufficient  for  them,  and  that  if 
yielding  to  the  temptations  of  the  devil  they  desired  riches,  they  should  not 
fail  to  be  devoured  by  avaricious  cares.  Besides,  she  urged,  that  as  the  poor 
were  suffering  members  of  Christ's  mystical  body,  He  would  be  sure  to  com- 
pensate the  nuns  for  any  temporal  loss,  and  to  reward  their  labours  in  the 
blessed  cause  of  charity.  Having  spoken  thus,  when  St.  Darerca  went  to 
seek  rest,  on  her  bed  were  found  twelve  beautiful  dresses  ;  so  that  believing 
they  were  a  gift  from  Heaven,  she  went  to  St.  Brigid,  and  then  told  her, 
that  the  Almighty  had  bestowed  them  to  supply  her  necessities.  The  latter 
holy  Abbess  replied :  "  Those  garments  sent  by  the  Lord  to  your  sisters 
divide  among  them  as  you  will,  because  they  are  more  in  need  of  such  arti- 
cles than  are  our  sisters."  A  certain  pauper,  having  denied  that  those 
garments  were  a  gift  from  Heaven,  fell  dead  very  suddenly,  but  he  was  soon 
restored  to  life  again,  through  the  prayers  of  St.  Darerca. 

Afterwards,  it  is  said,  this  holy  woman  and  her  company  of  virgins  sought 
St.  Ibar,  and  placed  themselves  under  his  protection.  They  now  settled  in 
Ard-Conais,*2  where  their  congregation  greatly  increased.  Several  pious 
virgins  and  widows  resorted  thither,  while  some  of  these  belonged  to  regal  and 
noble  families.  Both  by  word  and  example,  Darerca  trained  them  in  a  good 
rule  of  living.  At  one  time,  the  wells  and  cisterns  there  were  dried  up,  during 
an  unusually  warm  summer,  and  her  religious  complained  about  their  wanting 
water.  Moved  by  their  entreaties,  the  servant  of  Christ  offered  her  prayers, 
when  a  fountain  was  miraculously  produced.  This  spring  thenceforward 
afforded  an  inexhaustible  supply,  not  only  to  her  nuns,  but  to  all  the  people 
living  in  their  neighbourhood.     So  great  had  become  the  reputation  of  St. 


5°  Luger  built  a  church  in  Ruscach,  in  the  5t  See  her  Life  in  the  Second  Volume  of 

plain  of  Cuailgne,  now  known  as  Rooskey,       this  work,  at  the  1st  of  February,  Art.  i. 
near  Carlingford.  &  Its  location  has  not  been  ascertained. 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  85 


Moninna,  that  numbers  of  both  sexes  came  to  receive  her  blessing,  and  to 
ask  spiritual  favours  through  her  intercession.  She  was  even  gifted  with  the 
spirit  of  prophecy.  When,  on  a  certain  occasion,  St.  Ibar  recommended  a 
girl  living  in  her  neighbourhood  to  be  consigned  to  her  care,  and  to  be 
trained  according  to  her  rule ;  the  holy  virgin,  having  an  intuition  of  what 
should  happen,  said  :  "  This  pupil  child  shall  prove  to  be  the  cause,  why  we 
must  desert  our  cell,  on  a  future  occasion."  The  event  corresponded  with 
this  prediction  ;  for,  when  that  girl  became  an  adult,  she  was  filled  with  an 
invidious  feeling  towards  Darerca,  and  this  spirit  she  communicated  to  her 
relations.  The  meek  superioress  then  called  her  sisters  together  and  said : 
"  Lo  !  what  the  Almighty  revealed  to  us  regarding  this  girl  is  now  clearly 
manifested.  If  while  I  live,  you  have  to  endure  such  opposition,  when  I  am 
dead,  how  shall  you  be  able  to  live  here  ?  Let  us  then  yield  to  the  envious, 
and  let  us  leave  to  them  all  we  possess,  except  our  habits,  and  the  Lord  shall 
provide  another  place  for  us,  and  where  we  can  dwell.  "A  legend  is  related, 
about  St.  Darerca's  leaving  that  place  with  fifty  of  her  nuns.  On  coming  to 
a  river  which  was  usually  fordable,  a  great  flood  suddenly  took  place,  so  that 
they  were  unable  to  pass.  This  was  owing  to  the  fault  of  one  among  the 
sisters,  who  had  taken  a  certain  article  from  Ard  Conis,  contrary  to  the  order 
given  by  her  superioress.  This  she  was  ordered  to  restore,  and  afterwards 
the  company  of  religious  were  enabled  to  ford  that  river. 

Again,  they  visited  St.  Brigid  and  remained  with  her  for  some  days,  which 
were  spent  in  pious  colloquies.  They  asked  her  blessing  on  taking  leave, 
and  Brigid  said :  "  May  the  Almighty  God  preserve  you  along  the  way  on 
which  you  travel,  and  grant  that  you  reach  the  desired  habitation.,,  At  their 
departure,  St.  Brigid  presented  St.  Darerca  with  a  silver  vessel,  called  Escra,53 
in  the  Irish  language,  and  one  which  the  chiefs  of  Ireland  were  accustomed 
to  use  when  drinking.  However,  Darerca  did  not  wish  to  receive  anything 
but  a  blessing  from  the  venerable  Abbess,  and  on  leaving  with  her  sisters, 
she  deposited  the  measure  in  a  secret  place,  where  it  was  afterwards  found  by 
the  nuns  of  St.  Brigid.  Presenting  it  to  their  superioress,  she  said  :  u  What 
we  have  given  for  God's  sake,  we  ought  not  again  receive."  Then,  St. 
Brigid  ordered  that  it  should  be  cast  into  the  adjoining  River  Lyfi,  now 
known  as  the  Liffey.  In  a  miraculous  manner,  as  the  legend  relates,5*  it  was 
restored  to  St.  Darerca. 


CHAPTER     II. 

ST.  DARERCA  GOES  TO  THE  NORTHERN  PARTS  OF  IRELAND,  AND  FOUNDS  A  HOUSE  AT 
FOCHARD— THIS  PLACE  SHE  LEAVES  TO  SEEK  A  NEW  SETTLEMENT  AT  SLIEVE 
GULLION— HER  ESTABLISHMENT  AT  KILLEVY — HER  PERSONAL  VIRTUES  AND 
MIRACLES — SHE  IS  TO  BE  DISTINGUISHED  FROM  ANOTHER  ST.  MODWENNA,  VENE- 
RATED CHIEFLY  IN  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND—  MONINIA  ASSISTS  AT  THE  SYNOD 
OF   EASDRA— ACCOUNT   OF   HER  DEATH— HER  COMMEMORATIONS— CONCLUSION. 

Afterwards,  the  virgin  of  Christ  went  to  the  northern  parts  of  Ireland,  and 
there  she  found  her  relations,  in  the  plain  of  Murthenne.     The  people  of  that 

53  The  Irish  word  Of  c]\a  means  "  a  water  cant  Caput  littoris,  a  quodam  viro  sancto 
bucket."  Probably, however,  it  was  a  Mether,  Herbe  Pontifice,  Darercae  fratre,  traditur 
manufactured  in  an  artistic  manner.  fuisse   repertum.      Quod    vas  ipse  sanctae 

54  Thus:  "Vasitaqueprojectuminflumen,  Darercae,  cujus  monasterium  prope  praedic- 
quod  in  mare  versus  orientem  influit,  contra  turn  stagnum  fuit  situm,  donare  distulit, 
consuetum  cursum  naturae,  divina  operante  sanctae  vero  Darercse  monasterium  a  monas- 
potentia,  in  ora  stagni,  quod  Hibernici  vo-  terio  sanctae  Brigidae  quatuor  diebus  distat. 


86  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


district — said  to  have  been  greatly  addicted  to  magian  practices — had  been 
brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  true  religion,  through  the  ministry  of  St. 
Patrick.  Here,  she  is  related  to  have  lived  a  very  retired  life.  She  especially 
avoided  the  society  of  men,  and  in  order  that  she  might  not  be  seen  by  them, 
often  under  the  shade  of  night,  she  set  forth  to  visit  infirm  persons  and  to 
exercise  other  works  of  charity.  Always  she  wore  a  veil  when  abroad. 
Several  extraordinary  miracles  are  attributed  to  her,  but  they  are  mostly  of  a 
legendary  character.  According  to  the  writers  of  her  Lives,1  St.  Darerca  and 
her  companions 2  lived  at  Fochard,  near  Dundalk,  and  in  the  present  county 
of  Louth.  It  is  intimated,  furthermore,  that  she  was  the  first  to  establish 
there  a  religious  house.  One  hundred  and  fifty  sisters  are  said  to  have  lived 
with  her.  Nor  does  she  seem  to  have  continued  long  in  that  place;  for,  find- 
ing some  of  the  neighbouring  people  to  be  of  dissolute  morals,  and  addicted 
to  the  singing  of  improper  songs,  she  told  her  sisters,  that  they  should  seek 
out  a  less  frequented  locality.  She  then  asked  her  brother  Roman3  to  search 
for  a  more  suitable  spot,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  revealed  by  the  Almighty 
Himself.  However,  before  St.  Darerca  left  the  mountain  of  Facartha,  now 
the  Hill  of  Faughart,  she  selected  one  of  her  nuns,  named  Orbile,  to  dwell 
there,  and  to  guard  her  establishment. 

For  the  sake  of  greater  quiet,  Darerca  sought  a  desert  place,  near  the  Moun- 
tain ofCulinn,  to  which  she  removed.  Here,  the  nuns  found  a  swineherd 
belonging  to  the  King  of  Orior,  and  whose  name  was  Macloithe.  Nor  would 
he  suffer  such  a  numerous  company  to  settle  in  that  place,  without  first  learn- 
ing the  pleasure  of  the  king.  For  seven  whole  days  were  they  obliged  to 
wait  in  great  privation  for  that  rustic's  return.  He  obtained  permission  from  his 
master,  however,  that  they  might  remain  there,  and  so  fix  their  abode.  Mean- 
time, the  swine  had  strayed  in  different  directions  during  his  absence.  The  holy 
virgin  Modwenna  told  him  to  be  of  good  cheer,  and  that  his  charge  should  be 
safely  restored  to  him.  Her  promise  was  redeemed  that  very  same  hour. 
When  the  swineherd  found  all  the  animals  together,  he  selected  one  of  them 
to  present  as  an  offering  to  St.  Modwenna  and  her  sisters.  They  told  him, 
however,  that  they  were  accustomed  to  live  on  roots  and  herbs,  tasting  no 
flesh  meat.  In  this  remote  situation,  where  a  range  of  desolate  mountains  is 
to  be  seen  at  the  present  day,  St.  Darerca  resolved  on  founding  her  church  and 
monastery/  Itwassituatedatthefootof  SliabhCuillinns  or  SlieveGullion.  Her 
church  of  Cill-tsleibhe  is  now  known  as  Killevy 6  or  Killeavy,  a  very  old  building, 
in  a  parish  bearing  the  same  name.  It  lies  near  the  present  town  of  Newry. 
That  magnificent  mountain  Gullion  7  attains  an  altitude  of  1,893  ^eet  over  tne 
sea-level,  and  it  is  composed  chiefly  of  green-stone.  There  are  many  natural 
obstacles  to  its  rugged  sides  and  summits  being  reclaimed  ;  and  from  base  to 
summit,  the  ascent  is  fully  two  miles.8    Several  antiquities,  evidently  referring 


Chapter  ii. —  •    That  taken  from   the  brated  Cuchullain  had  been  fostered. 

Salamancan  Manuscript,  as  also  that  attri-  6  This  is  a  very  extensive  mountain  parish, 

buted  to  Conchubran.  having   3,583a.    ir.   33p.  in   the  barony  of 

2  Among   these  are  said   to   have   been  Lower  Orior,  and  24,590a.  3r.  in  the  barony 
Brigid,  Athea  and  Orbile.  of  Upper  Orior,  in  the  county  of  Armagh. 

3  We  do  not  find,  that  he  has  any  other  re-  '  Allusion  is  thus  made  to  it  in  a  poem  in- 
cord  in  history.  tituled   "Diarmid's  Chase  :" — 

4  According  to   Archdall,  this  happened 

about  the  year  630.     See  "Monasticon  Hi-  "  Slieve  Gullien's  lofty  brow 

bernicum,"  p.  34.  Rose  proudly  o'er  the  vale  below." 

s  This  mount  tin  took  its  name  from  Cui- 

lean,  an   artificer,   who  lived  there  in  the  — Miss  Stewart's  "  Mirror  of  the  Heart ;  or 

reign  of  Conchobhar  Mac  Nessa,  King  of  Lays  of  Loyalty,   Patriotism,  Chivalry  and 

Ulster,  and  by  whom  it  is  stated  the  cele-  Devotion,"  p.  41. 


July  6.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


87 


to  a  remote  period,  are  to  be  found  in  this  picturesque  and  deserted  region. 
Among  these,  the  artificial  and  subterranean  chamber  at  Aughnaclough  has 
often  excited  the  curiosity  of  visitors. 9  On  the  summit  of  Slieve  Gullion, 
there  is  a  very  large  cairn,  supposed  to  have  been  an  ancient  sepulchral 
monument.  Near  it  is  a  pool,  called  the  Loch,  about  60  yards  in  diameter. 
These  objects  form  the  subject  of  an  Irish  poem  IO  ascribed  to  Ossian,  and 
in  which  Fionn  mac  Cumhall  and  his  heroes  conspicuously  figure." 


View  of  Slieve  Gullion,  from  Aughnaclough. 

The  church  of  St.  Modwenna  was  constructed  of  dressed  planks,  according 
to  the  fashion  of  Scottish  people,12  as  Conchubran  remarks.^  Through  mis- 
take, some  Acts  of  St.  Modwenna  state,  that  she  erected  her  nunnery  at  Cel- 
liscline;14  however,  this  is  only  a  mistake  for  Kill-sleve-Cuillin,  or  "  the  cell 
of  Mount  Cuillin."  It  would  seem,  that  this  nunnery  existed  so  early  as  the 
sixth  century. Ts 

The  following  story  seems  to  synchronise  our  saint  with  another  holy 
virgin,  who  is  supposed  to  have  flourished,  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries. 


8  See  "The  Parliamentary  Gazetteer  of 
Ireland,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  253. 

9  The  accompanying  illustration  of  the 
opening  to  Aughnaclough  chamber,  with  a 
distant  view  of  Slieve  Gullion,  was  drawn  by 
William  F.  Wakeman  on  the  wood,  en- 
graved by  Mrs.  Millard. 

10  Called  Iaoi  na  SeAlzjA  or  The  Chase. 
It  has  been  elegantly  translated  into  English 
verse,  by  Miss  Brooke,  in  her  "  Reliques  of 
Irish  Poetry." 

11  See  Lewis'  "  Topographical  Dictionary 
of  Ireland,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  146. 

12  Thus,  Columbanus,  an  Irishman,  built 
at  Bobbio  an  oratory,  "  ex  lignis  ad  magi- 
tudinem  corporis  sui."  St.  Bernard  refer- 
ring to  the  church  erected  by  Malachi  at 
Bangor,  says,  "  oratorium  intra  paucos  dies 


consummatum  est  de  lignis  quidem  levigatis, 
sed  apte  firmiterque  contextum  opus  Scoti- 
cum." 

13  It  was  constructed  as  he  states,  "  tabulis 
dedolatis,  juxta  morem  Scoticarum  gentium, 
eo  quod  macerias  Scoti  non  solent  facere,  nee 
factas  habere."  Second  Life  of  St.  Mod- 
wenna, chap,  viii.,  num.  74,  p.  311. 

14  Dean  Cressy  falls  into  a  great  error  when 
he  states,  that  St.  Modwenna's  nunnery  was 
so  called  from  the  multitude  of  cells  in  it. 
See  "  Church  History  of  Brittany,"  book 
xxviii.,  chap,  ii.,  num.  8,  p.  744. 

'3  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "Ecclesiastical 
History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  iii.,  chap,  xvii., 
sect,  ix.,  p.  38,  and  nn.  116,  1 18,  pp.  40 
to  42. 

16  Her  Acts  are  recorded  at    the  1st   of 


88  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


In  the  Arts  of  St.  Fanchea,16  the  name  of  St.  Darercha  or  Moninna  is  intro- 
duced. While  St.  Fanchea  passed  over  the  sea  to  visit  her  brother  St. 
Endeus,  the  holy  virgin  Darercha  was  engaged  in  prayer  beside  a  church  and 
before  a  cross.  This  happened,  while  she  dwelt  in  the  nunnery,  and  at  a 
place  denominated  Belsleibhe,1?  which  means  "  the  mountain  gorges, ''  accord- 
ing to  Colgan.*8  He  says  it  is  more  usually  called  Kill-sleibhe  "the  moun- 
tain cell.1^  While  thus  engaged  at  prayer,  St.  Darerca  had  a  miraculous 
vision  regarding  a  brazen  vessel,  recovered  from  the  sea,  into  which  Fanchea 
had  cast  it.ao 

In  her  Acts,  it  is  stated,  that  St.  Darerca  exacted  from  her  sisters  such  a 
rigorous  course  of  fasting,  that  on  a  certain  occasion  they  were  brought 
almost  to  a  condition  of  starvation,  when  a  holy  and  compassionate  man 
entreated  her  to  relieve  their  necessities.  This  she  effected,  and  in  a  miracu- 
lous manner.  She  raised  also  a  dead  novice  to  life  through  her  prayers. 
Various  other  miracles  are  recounted  in  her  Lives,  but  it  is  unnecessary  to 
specify  them,  as  many  may  be  relegated  to  the  class  of  fables.  In  the  Life 
of  this  holy  woman  and  which  is  quoted  by  Colgan,21  three  pious  virgins,  who 
seem  to  have  had  a  special  relation  with  her,  are  named.  These  were 
Brignata  or  Brecnata,22  Damnoda,23  and  Derlasre.24  The  first  of  these  is 
said  to  have  been  sent  from  her  monastery  to  that  of  Rosnat,  in  the  Island  of 
Britain,  where  she  was  commissioned  to  learn  the  rules  there  practised.  Like 
a  true  daughter  of  obedience,  she  hastened  thither,  and  remained  for  some 
time  in  the  hospice,  reading  the  Psalms  and  other  pious  books.  Having 
accomplished  the  object  of  her  mission,  Brignat  returned  to  Slieve  Cullin, 
after  a  prosperous  journey.  It  is  stated,  in  St.  Darerca's  Acts,  that  the  Angels 
of  God  were  accustomed  to  visit  her  and  to  hold  frequent  conferences  with 
her.  However,  on  a  certain  night,  when  the  sisters  were  going  forth  to  recite 
Matins,  Darerca  missed  the  accustomed  angelic  visitation,  and  she  had  a 
revelation,  that  some  one  among  her  companions  must  have  committed  a 
grievous  sin.  She  invited  all  the  sisters  to  examine  their  consciences.  One  of 
the  widows  acknowledged,  that  contrary  to  her  rule,  she  had  not  asked  per- 
mission from  the  Abbess  to  retain  a  pair  of  shoes,  which  she  wore  to  protect 
her  from  the  cold,  and  which  she  had  received  from  a  man  of  bad  morals. 
Darerca  suggested,  that  these  should  be  thrown  into  a  neighbouring  lake, 
where  they  might  not  more  be  found,  and  she  charged  Brignat  with  this  com- 
mission. The  angelic  messengers  afterwards  appeared,  and  the  saint  gave 
thanks  to  God,  that  the  community  devotions  were  not  further  interrupted 
through  any  similar  cause.  The  foregoing  narrative  is  followed  by  another,  that 
when  the  sisters  returned  to  their  dormitory  to  have  a  little  rest  before  daylight, 
the  virgin  Brigid  25  went  alone  to  the  chamber,  where  the  Abbess  prayed, 
and  where  she  held  colloquy  with  the  Angels.  When  she  approched  that 
pl.ice,  two  swans  of  a  snow-white  colour  seemed  to  fly  away  from  it.  This 
vision  terrified  the  sister,  and  she  fell  on  the  ground.  She  soon  arose,  how- 
January,  in  the  First  Volume  of  ihis  work,  illustrate  a  custom  prevalent  at  a  time, 
Art.  i.  whin    the  original    Acts    were    written,  of 

x?  Probably  a  mistake  in  writing  for  Kill-       brazen  ves>Hs  having  been  u>e<l   in  Ireland 
Sleibhe.  bo:h    for   drinking   and    for   washing    pur- 

18  See     "  Acta    Sanctorum     Hibernioe,"       poses. 

i.  Januarii,  Vita  S.  Fancheaj,  cap.  ix.,  p.  2.  2I  See  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Quinta  Ap- 

19  He  remarks,   that  it  is  a  parish  church       pendix   ad    Acta    S.    Patricii,    cap.   xxiii., 
belonging  to  Armagh  diocese,  at  the  passes       p.  270. 

of  Cuillen  Mountain,   in  Ulster.     See  ibid.,  "  At  chapter  xiv.,  xvi. 

n.  19,  p.  4.  23  At  chapter  xviii.,  xix. 

30  The  story  which  follows  is  too  improba-  "*  At  chapter  xxi. 

ble to  deserve  further  notice;  but,  it  serves  to  25  Whether  she  was  a  different  person  or 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  89 


ever,  and  tremblingly  knocking  at  her  superior's  door,  she  revealed  what  had 
occurred.  Darerca  told  her,  to  sign  her  eyes  with  a  sign  of  the  cross,  lest  she 
might  have  had  a  demoniac  vision,  as  sometimes  happened  to  saints  in  the 
desert.  However,  on  being  told  the  particulars,  Darerca  said  :  "  Now  do  I 
truly  know,  that  the  Almighty,  who  reveals  many  things  in  favour  of  the 
human  race,  hath  enriched  thee  with  his  grace,  and  it  is  time  thou  shouldst 
profit  by  it,  in  seeking  thy  birth-place.  Soon  shalt  thou  want  those  eyes, 
which  have  seen  the  Angels,  yet  better  ones  shall  be  given  thee,  and  which 
may  enable  thee  mentally  to  see  God.  But,  until  I  depart  this  life,  reveal 
thy  vision  to  no  person. "  The  servant  of  Christ  observed  the  instructions  of 
her  holy  superioress,  and  obeying  her  command,  she  went  to  her  natal  place, 
which  was  one  day's  journey  removed  from  Darerca's  monastery.  There  she 
found  a  place,  suitable  for  the  erection  of  a  nunnery,  and  so  long  as  she  lived, 
Brigid  was  deprived  of  corporal  vision. 

An  old  tradition  has  it,  that  Darerca  through  her  custom  of  mortification 
never  ate  a  sufficiency,26  and  that  she  never  took  a  dinner;  while  this  habit  of 
living  is  dated  from  the  time .  she  wore  a  girdle 2?  about  her  body — a  phrase 
equivalent  to  the  modern  one  of  taking  the  veil.28  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  St.  Moninna  practised  great  austerities,  and  that  she  was  most  abstemious 
as  regarded  food.29  We  are  told,  that  in  the  coarseness  of  her  garments,  she 
might  be  regarded  as  a  true  daughter  of  Elias  and  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
while  her  sisters  nobly  emulated  her  example  in  this  species  of  heavenly  war- 
fare. As  a  light  placed  on  its  candlestick,  so  did  she  dissipate  the  darkness 
of  those  northern  parts.  Her  vigils  and  prayers  were  incessant.  She  was 
never  a  moment  idle,  and  she  laboured  with  her  own  hands.  She  wrought 
many  miracles,  and  she  was  always  victorious  over  the  assaults  of  Satan.  Her 
chastity  was  so  admirable,  that  she  had  applied  to  her  the  term  "a  sister  of 
Mary,"  as  the  highest  eulogy;  for,  that  she  was  a  virgin  even  as  Mary  is  remarked 
by  a  scholiast  on  the  "  Feilire"  of  St.  ^Engus.30  Her  humility  was  very  great, 
while  she  endeavoured  to  conceal  her  good  actions  and  virtues  from  the  know- 
ledge of  men.  The  fame  of  her  great  merits  spread  notwithstanding  over  all 
parts  of  Ireland.  Noble  matrons  were  especially  anxious  to  visit  her,  to 
prostrate  themselves  at  her  feet,  to  seek  her  counsel,  and  to  gain  the  favour 
of  her  prayers.  Besides,  the  number  of  virgins  in  her  community  increased 
day  by  day,  and  they  came  not  only  from  her  neighbourhood,  but  even  from 
distant  places. 

As  we  have  already  stated,  on  the  preceding  day,  a  St.  Modwenna,  also 
called  Monenna,31  went  to  England,   and  she  founded  no  less  than  seven 

not  from  Brignat  may  be  questioned.  29  This  is  expressed  in  an  old  Irish  rami, 

26  This  Cuimin  of  Connor  states,  in  the  thus  translated  into  English  by  Dr.  Whitley 
poem  which  begins,  CAyvAr-  pAcr\Aic  puipc      Stokes  : — 

ITIaca,  which  is  thus  translated  into  English  : 

"  Patrick  of  Ard  Madia's  city  loved." — Rev.  "  She  took  a  girdle  on  her  body, 

Dr.  Kelly's  "Calendar  of  Irish  Saints,"  pp.  It  is  according  to  knowledge  of  her 

162,  163.  This  is  also  quoted,  in  a  note  sue-  that  I  hear 

ceeding,  and  taken  from  the  scholia  on  the  She  ate  not  her  fill  or  food. 

Feilire  of  St.  ^Engus.  Moninne  of  Slieve  Gullion." 

27  The  monastic  girdle  is  frequently  men- 
tioned in  the  Lives  of  the  Irish  Saints,  as  in  — "Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Aca- 
those  of  St.  Brigid  at  February  1st ;  in  those  demy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i., 
of  St.  Colman,  at  February  3rd,  in  those  of  part  i.  On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus  p.  cxvi. 
St.  Mochta,  at  August  9th,  and  in  those  of  3°  See  "  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish 
St.  Mobhi,  at  October  12th.  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i., 

28  See  the  "  Martyrology  of  Donegal,"  part  i.  On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus.  By 
edited  by  Rev.  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.,  p.  cxvi. 

186  to  189,  and  note  by  Dr.  Reeves    I,    at  3I  See  the  Acts  of  St.  Modwen,  Monynna, 

p.  188.  Moninia,  Monenna,  Moduenna,  Modwenna, 


9o  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


churches  in  Scotland.*2  One  of  these  was  known  as  Chilnacase,  in  Galloway ; 
another  was  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain  of  Dundevenal,  in  Laudonia ;  a 
third  stood  on  the  mountain  of  Dunbreten  ;  the  fourth  at  the  Castle  of  Stri- 
ve.lin;  the  fifth  was  at  Dun  Eden,  now  Edinburgh;  a  sixth  was  on  the  moun- 
tain of  Dunpelder;  while  the  seventh  was  built  at  Lamfortin,  near  Dundee.33 
We  think,  however,  she  must  be  distinguished  from  the  present  saint ; 
yet,  it  must  be  observed,  that  all  the  narratives  and  legends,  in  which  her 
ascertainable  Acts  abound,  appear  to  have  reference  only  to  Moninne  of 
Sliabh  Cuillin.  The  latter  does  not  appear,  however,  to  have  left  Ireland  for  any 
more  distant  country,  and  she  seems  to  have  lived  about  two  centuries  earlier. 
Wherefore,  we  deem  it  quite  unnecessary  to  introduce  here,  those  incidents 
which  have  been  recorded  in  the  previous  Life,  and  which  have  been  set 
down  at  the  day  immediately  preceding. 

As  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  St.  Farannan,34  this  St.  Moninnia  3S  of  Cui- 
linn  Mountain  assisted  in  the  synod  held  at  Easdra,  after  St.  Columba  36  had 
built  the  church  of  Druim  Cliabh,37  in  Cairbre.  The  exact  period,  when  this 
took  place,  has  been  contested ;  some  think  it  had  been  before  the  great 
Apostle  of  the  Picts  and  Scots  left  Ireland  for  Scotland  about  a.d.  563,  while 
others  suppose  it  happened,  after  the  great  Convention  held  at  Druim  Ceat, 
about  a.d.  590.38  The  latter  seems  to  us  more  probable  ;  while,  if  we  allow 
the  synod  of  Easdra  to  have  been  held  late  in  the  sixth  century,  and  if  we 
admit  Moninnia  to  have  been  veiled  by  St.  Patrick,  she  must  then  have 
attained  an  extreme  old  age.  As  we  have  distinguished  the  St.  Modwenna  of 
the  previous  day  39  from  the  present  holy  woman,  and  as  it  is  generally 
believed  she  died  in  Scotland,  and  had  been  finally  buried  .in  England;  so 
we  have  every  reason  to  suppose,  that  St.  Modwenna  of  the  present  date  de- 
parted this  life,  in  her  establishment,  at  Slieve  Cuillinn.  This  is  very  dis- 
tinctly laid  down,  in  the  most  authentic  of  her  biographies,  where  it  is  stated, 
that  when  her  death  approached,  King  Eugene,40  with  his  chiefs  and  a  great 
multitude,  moved  through  sorrow  for  her  anticipated  departure,  came  to  her 
place,  and  he  besought  a  bishop  named  Herbeus*1  to  entreat  her  for  their  con- 

Monyma,     Modovenna,     Mowena,      Mod-  and  Apostle  of  Caledonia,  Art.  i.,  chap, 

venna,  or  Nodwenna,  Virgin,  at  the  5th  of  and  chap,  xv.,  at  the  9th  of  June,  in  the  Sixth 

July,  in  the  present  volume,  Art.  i.  Volume  of  this  work. 

3"  This  Ussher  shows  from  Conchubranus,  39  See  at  the  5th  of  July,   Art.  i.,  in  the 

and  she  is  said  to  have  been  identical  with  present  volume. 

Monenna  of  Kill-sieve.      He  writes  :  "  Ea  *°  He  is  called  Rex  Eugenius,  Conay,  who 

Ecclesia  in  Armachano  Comitatu  sita  Kil-  then  ruled  over  the  provinces  of  Marceyne, 

sieve  nomen  adhuc  retinet,  et  mons  ille  vici-  of  Cunilgoe  and  of  Coba.    It  is  quite  evident 

nus  Sleu-gullen;  a  quo  morunne  o  fl-iab  there  are  errors  of  spelling  in  those  proper 

CuilieAn  appellationem  apud  Hibernosnos-  names;  but,  the  localities  may  be  conjec- 

tros  Virgo  ipsa  est  consecuta." — "Britanni-  tured  as  having  been  at  or  adjoining  Slieve 

carum  Ecclesiarum  Antiquitates,"  cap.  xv.,  Cuillin.     We  confess  ourselves  at  a  loss  to 

p.  368.  identify  Marceyne  ;  however,  Cuailgne,  now 

33  There  she  is  said   to  have  died.     See  Cooly,  a  mountainous  district  in  the  north  of 

ibid.,  p.  369.  Louth  County  seems  to  have  stood  for  the 

3*  See  his  Life,  in  the  Second  Volume  of  second  mis-spelled  denomination,  while    it 

this  work,  at  February  15th,  Art.  ii.  may  be  that  Ui-Eathach  Cobha,  the  neigh- 

3S  Her  feast  according  to  Colgan  falls  on  bouring  people  in  the  present  baronies  of 

the  6th  of  July.  Iveagh,   County  Down,  represents    Coba. 

35  See  his  Life,  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this  For  their  descent  and  ancient  history,  see 

work,  at  June  9th,  Art.  i.  Rev.  Dr.  Reeves'   "Ecclesiastical  Antiqui- 

37  See  Colgan's  "  Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber-  ties  of  Down,  Connor  and  Dromore,"  Appen- 
nise,"   xv.    Februarii,    Vita  S.    Farannani  dix,  HII,  pp.  348  to  352. 

Confessoris,   cap.  vii.,   p.  337,   and  n.    18,  *«  It  is  easy  to  see,  that  as  the  Modwenna 

p.  339.  at  July  5th  had  been  visited  by  a  Bishop 

38  See  the  account  contained  in  the  Life  of  Ronan,  under  similar  circumstances,  and  as 
St.  Columkille  or  Columba,  Abbot  of  Iona,  the  narrative  of  her  death-bed  scenes  very 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  91 


solation  to  remain  one  year  more  among  them.  However,  she  refused  that 
request,  preferring  rather  with  Saints  Peter  and  Paul — who  had  favoured 
her  with  a  vision — to  go  at  once  into  Heaven. 

The  day  for  St.  Darerca's  or  Moninne's  death  is  usually  set  down  as  the 
6th  of  July.  The  Martyrology  of  Tallagh  *2  registers  at  this  day,  Moninni 
Sleibhi  Culennquae  et  Darerca  prius  dicta  est.  She  is  also  mentioned  in  the 
Calendar  of  Cashel,^3  in  the  Martyrology  of  Marianus  O'Gorman,44  and  in  that 
ofMuguire.45  The  Carthusian  Martyrology ,«6 as  also  Greven's  additions  to 
it,  and  lather  Henry  Fitzsimon,  record  Nonninia,  virgin,  at  the  6th  of  July,  w 
In  the  anonymous  Calendar  published  by  O'Sullevan  Beare,  at  the  same 
date,  we  find  Noninna.  In  the  posthumous  Manuscript  of  Father  O'Sheerin,*8 
she  is  setdown,however,as''Moninna  de  Sliabh-Cuillium.quse  et  Darerca  prius 
dicta."49  At  the  same  date,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal, s°  her  name 
appears  as  Moninne,  virgin,  of  Sliabh  Cuillinn.  In  his  Universal  Martyr- 
ology, Castellan  enters  the  name  of  St.  Darerca  in  Ireland.  Among  the 
Scottish  Calendars,  we  find  the  name  of  St.  Moninne  set  down  at  the  6th  ot 
July,  as  in  the  Kalendar  of  Drummond.51  Like  nearly  every  other  matter 
regarding  her  doubtful,  we  must  call  into  question  the  extremely  long  term 
of  her  lite,  said  to  have  reached  one  hundred  and  eighty  years.s2  Nine  score 
years  was  her  age,  according  to  old  Irish  traditions  ;53  but,  it  seems  most  pro- 
bable, her  life  was  not  extended  to  that  extraordinary  period. 

This  idea  of  longevity  appears  to  have  arisen,  from  the  attempt  to  syn- 
chronise various  statements,  that  have  crept  into  her  Acts,  or  that  had  been 
spread  abroad,  in  reference  to  her  supposed  relationship  with  other  saints,  or 
with  persons  of  historic  celebrity,  and  mentioned  in  connexion  with  her.  The 
time  assigned  for  her  departure,  by  the  0'Clerys,54  is  517,  in  the  fourteenth 
year  of  the  monarch  Muircheartach's  reign.  Some  seem  inclined  to  believe, 
that  this  was  rather  the  date  for  the  death  of  Darerca,  otherwise  called 
Monenna,  the  sister  of  St.  Patrick. ss  The  Annals  of  Ulster  place  her  death, 
at  a.d.  518,  the  year  in  which  they  state  St.  Coluimcille  was  born.s6  The 
same  date  has  been  assigned  for  her  death  by  other  writers. 57  However,  if 
we  are  to  credit  the  statements  contained  in  her  Acts,  and  in  those  of  other 

closely  resembles  the  incidents  briefly  alluded  p.  17. 

to  in  the  text,  that  it  becomes  next  to  im-  52  This  is  stated,  in  an  old  Irish  poem, 

possible  adequately  to  apportion  it  among  quoted  by  the  scholiast  on  the  "  Leabhar 

two  different  saints.  Breac  "  copy  of  the  "Feilire"  of  St.  <Engus, 

4*  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  at  the  6th  of  July.      See  "Transactions   of 

43  Thus:  "  S.  Moninna,  virgo  Sliabh  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript 
Culium,  quae  prius  Darerca,  et  Sarbilia  Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.  On  the  Calendar  of 
dicta  est."                                                        '  Oengus.      By  Whitley    Stokes,   LL.D.,    p. 

44  Thus  :  "Monina,  munda  sanctimonialis,       cxvi. 

virgo  Sieve,  sive  montis  Cuilium."  S3  As  in  this  quatrain  has  been  asserted  : — 

4=  The  latter  gives  Darerca  the  name  of 

Sarbilia.  "  Nine  score  years  together,  according 

46  In  it  it,  she  is  noted  thus  :  In  Hibernia  to  rule, 

Nonninae  Virginis.  According  to  rule  without  fear, 

4?  See    O'Sullevan    Beare's     "  Historic  Without  folly,  without  misdeed,  with- 

Catholicae  Iberniae  Compendium,"  tomus  i.,  out  danger, 

lib.  iv.,  cap.  xi.,  xii.,  pp.  50,  56.  Was  the  age  of  Moninne." 

48  These  were  lent  to  the  Bollandists  for 

their  inspection.  — "Martyrology   of    Donegal,"    edited   by 

49  /Engus  is  cited,  for  this  entry  in  the  Rev.  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  186,  187. 
text.  S4  See,  also,  Archdall's  "  Monasticon  Hi- 

50  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  bernicum,"  p.  34. 

186  to  189.  55  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "Annals  of  the 

51  Thus:    "Pridie  Nonas  Apud   Hiber-       Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  168,  169. 

niam    Sancte   Virginis  Moninne." — Bishop  56  See  Rev.  Dr.  O'Conor's  "Rerum  Hiber- 

Forbes'    "  Kalendars  of  Scottish    Saints,"       nicarum    Scriptores,"   tomus  iv.,    Annales 


92 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  6. 


saints,  we  should  rather  refer  her  death  to  the  close  of  the  sixth  century. 
Other  accounts  place  her  death  at  a  much  later  period,  but  as  we  have  already 
seen,  these  refer  to  another  holy  woman,  bearing  the  same  name,  and  who 
lived  probably  in  the  eighth  century. 

Long  after  her  death,  the  name  of  St.  Darerca  or  Moninne  and  venera- 
tion for  her  virtues  survived,  especially  in  that  northern  part  of  Ireland,  with 
which  she  was  chiefly  connected.  Some  ruins  of  a  church,  which  was  dedi- 
cated to  this  saint,  and  near  which  stood  a  round  tower,  are  still  to  be  seen  at 
Killevy  or  Killeavy,  in  the  county  of  Armagh.  A  well,  sacred  to  St.  Darerca, 
was  also  near  her  nunnery.s8  Before  the  death  of  St.  Darerca,  she  is  said  to 
have  appointed  Bia  59  as  Abbess  to  succeed  her.6°  Afterwards  followed  one 
named  Diu.61  The  third  in  order  is  stated  to  have  been  Derlasre,62  who  pre- 
sided over  the  nunnery  forty  years. 63  In  the  year  654,  the  death  of  Coinceen 
of  Cill-Sleibhe  is  recorded,  in  our  Annals.6'*  In  subsequent  times,  Cill-Sleibhe 
is  likely  to  have  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Danish  invaders,  for  we  learn,  that 
a  priest  of  this  place,  named  Duibhlitir,  was  martyred  by  the  foreigners  of 
Carlingford  Lough,  a. d.  Q2i.6s  During  the  middle  ages,  a  female  community, 
presided  over  by  an  Abbess  of  Kilsleve,  had  possessions,  at  this  place.66 


Ultonienses,  p.  12. 

57  See  in  the  "Circle  of  the  Seasons," 
p.  188. 

s8  A  miracle  relating  to  it,  and  referring 
to  a  Bishop  of  venerable  life  called  Fibartus, 
and  having  the  surname  of  Firnianus,  has 
been  attributed  to  the  intercession  of  St. 
Darerca.  This  is  stated  to  have  occurred, 
while  Derlasre  was  superioress,  and  it  is  told 
in  the  Salamancan  Life,  chap,  iv.,  num.  45, 
p.  296.  This  is  more  fully  related  in  the 
Second  Life,  where  the  Bishop  is  named 
Fuibar,  and  having  the  surname  of  Vinuia- 
mus  ;  while  the  miracle  is  attributed  to  his 
merits  and  to  those  of  Movenna.  See  chap, 
viii.,  num.  77,  78,  pp.  311,  312. 

59  In  the  Second  Life,  she  is  called  the 
daughter  of  Ailella,  cap.  viii.,  num.  74, 
p.  311. 

60  According  to  the  First  Life,  cap.  iv., 
num.  41,  p.  296. 

61  We  have  it  thus  entered  in  the  First  Life, 
"  deinde  in  Diu,"  but  we  suspect  an  error 
has  been  here  admitted.  In  the  Second  Life, 
she  is  designated  as  the  Third  Abbess, 
and  called  "  Dognidui,  filise  Mothai,  filii 
Licac." 

62  We  do  not  find  any  saint  bearing  this 
name  recorded  in  our  Calendars  ;  but  during 
her  incumbency,  the  following  miracle  is  re- 
corded, and  it  is  attributed  tothemeritsof  St. 
Darerca.  While,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  Hibernian  nation,  the  nuns  had  been 
engaged  in  erecting  with  planed  planks  a 
church  near  the  monastery  at  Ben — not  at 
Banchor  as  the  Bollandists  guess,  but  at 
Slieve  Cuillinn,  the  word  Benn  being  often 
used  by  the  Irish  for  Slieve — they  desired 
it  should  be  of  elegant  workmanship.  How- 
ever, they  wanted  a  suitable  kind  of  beam  to 
join  two  of  the  walls,  at  the  summit  of  the 
building,  and  which  may  be  regarded  as  a 
wall-plate  or  a  projection  near  the  roof.  The 


workmen,  after  a  diligent  search  through  the 
forest,  at  last  found  a  tree,  which  was  suita- 
ble for  their  purpose,  but  it  was  in  a  place 
very  difficult  for  access  or  removal.  The  tree 
notwithstanding  was  cut  down,  but  it  could 
not  be  moved.  Knowing  this  state  of  the 
affair,  Derlasre  betook  herself  to  prayer, 
and  besought  her  patroness  to  obtain  their 
great  desire,  which  was  to  erect  a  church  in 
the  name  of  Darerca  herself.  On  the  day 
following,  without  the  aid  of  man  or  beast, 
the  beam  required  was  found  where  wanted, 
and  near  the  nunnery.  Then,  the  carpenters, 
impelled  through  curiosity,  went  to  that 
place  where  the  tree  grew,  but  they  were  not 
able  to  discover  there  a  single  trace  of  broken 
branches.  This  proved,  that  what  could  not 
be  accomplished  through  human  effort,  is 
easily  done  through  Divine  agency  ;  and  it 
was  believed,  that  the  Angels  bore  that  tree 
through  the  air,  from  that  rough  and  elevated 
ground  on  which  it  formerly  grew. 

63  The  Second  Life  calls  her  "  Diclaisre, 
filia  Daisrami,  filii  Buissidi,"  cap.  viii.,  num. 

74.  P-  3»- 

6*  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  266,  267. 

65  See  ibid.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  608,  609. 

66  At  the  residence  of  the  Abbess  here,  on 
the  iotli  of  November,  a.d.  1477,  a  case  of 
disputed  right  was  negotiated  between 
Edmund  Connesburgh,  an  Englishman 
chosen  as  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  Octa- 
vianus  del  Palacio,  the  Pope's  Nuncio  in 
Ireland.  See  the  Very  Rev.  Dean  Reeves' 
paper,  intituled  "  Octavianus  del  Palacio, 
Archbishop  of  Armagh,"  in  "Journal  of  the 
Royal  Historical  and  Archaeological  Associa- 
tion of  Ireland,"  vol.  iii.,  Fourth  Series, 
January,  1875,  No.  21,  pp.  344.  345- 

67  See  Bishop  Forbes'  "Kalendars  of 
Scottish  Saints,    pp.  396,  406. 

68  In    1243,    according   to    "  Registrum 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  93 


In  Scotland,  the  church  of  Scoonie  was  dedicated  to  a  St.  Memme  67 — who 
may  have  been  the  same  as  Modwenna — by  David  de  Bernham,  on  the  fourth 
of  the  June  Kalends.68  In  the  parish  of  Kilmannan,  county  of  Wexford,  there 
is  a  well,  and  in  popular  remembrance  dedicated  to  a  St.  Mannan,  whiLe 
there  a  patron  was  held  on  the  6th  of  July.69  Could  this  name  be  a  corrup- 
tion of  St.  Moninne?  The  feast  of  St.  Mannan — held  on  this  day — is  cer- 
tified, also,  by  a  local  resident. 7°  There  is  a  legend,  likewise,  which  states, 
that  St.  Munnu  of  Taghmon  visited  this  St.  Mannan,  and  that  a  bell?1  fell 
from  Heaven,  at  the  time,  on  a  spot,  where  a  rock —  locally  called  "  the  bell 
stone  " — projects  over  the  surface  of  a  field. 

The  present  holy  virgin  gave  the  greatest  edification  during  a  long  life, 
which  was  spent  in  the  service  of  God,  and  in  the  practice  of  most  rigorous 
penance.  She  was  exact  in  the  performance  of  every  virtue.  Why  will  the 
hardened  sinner  blush  to  confess  those  sins  he  committed,  when  a  pious  and 
tender  woman  can  relish  mortifications  without  repining?  He  refuses  to  pay 
a  just  penalty  for  the  commission  of  evil,  while  he  did  not  blush  to  stain  his 
own  soul.  This  saint  was  pure,  and  yet  she  practised  penance.  She  was 
always  generous  in  those  self-sacrifices,  which  the  Almighty  rewards,  most 
abundantly;  and  her  memory  remains,  to  remind  sinners  of  the  many  trans- 
gressions for  which  they  have  not  sufficiently  atoned,  although  constantly 
warned  about  the  danger  of  delay. 


Article  III. — St.  Mac  Earc,  Bishop  of  Donoughmore.  [Fifth 
Century.']  This  holy  man  was  the  son  of  Bronach,1  and  he  is  said  to  have  been 
brother  to  other  celebrated  saints.  His  original  name  does  not  seem  to  be 
known  ;  but,  we  may  probably  infer  the  name  of  his  father,  from  the  patrony- 
mic Mac  Earc,  or  "  the  son  of  Earc,"  bestowed  on  him.  In  that  Tract  attri- 
buted to  St.  JEngus,  and  intituled  "  De  Matribus  Sanctorum  Hibernise,"2 
the  present  St.  Mac  Earc  is  said  incorrectly  to  have  been  the  brother  of  St. 
Mochae,3  of  Aendrum  ;  of  Comraire  of  Uisneach ;  of  Manchan  of  Liath- 

Prioratus  S.  Andree,"  p.  348.  eppuic  meic  ej\cA  o  TJorrmAch  mop  mulgi 

69  See  "Letters  containing  Information  re-  Coda.     Ocuf  "OAirmACAn   flebe  OecViAo. 

lative    to    the   Antiquities    of    the  County  Ocur-  jTu-pr-A  cnaibcec  111  pAnonA  in  5aI- 

of  Wexford,  collected  during  the  Progress  of  Via."     The   foregoing  has  been  thus  trans- 

the  Ordnance  Survey  in  1840,"  vol.  ii.   John  lated  into  English  : — "  Bronach,  daughter  of 

O'Donovan's  letter,  pp.  74  to  77.  Milcon,  with  whom  Patrick  was  in  bondage, 

7°  Mr.  Michael  Browne,  of  Bridgetown,  was  the  mother  of  Mochae  of  Aendrum,  or 
county  of  Wexford,  in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  of  Aendrum  of  Loch  Cuan  ;  and  of  Corn- 
dated  from  that  place,  December  18th,  raire  of  Uisneach  [now  Knockusneach,  in  the 
1872.  parish  of  Conrath,  County  Westmeath],  in 

71  This  bell  is  said  to  have  been  in  the  Meath ;  and  of  Manchan  of  Liath  Manchan 

possession  of  the  Harveys  of  Mount  Plea-  [now  Lemanaghan],  in   Dealbhna   Beathra 

sant,  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  century.  [the  barony  of  Garrycastle,  King's  County]  ; 

Article  hi. — x  There  is  a  holy  virgin  of  and  of  Colman  Muilinn  of  Daire  Chaechain 

this  name,  venerated  at  the  2nd  of  April,  and  in   Dalriada  :  and   of  Bishop   Mac   Ere  of 

who  is  noticed,   in  the  Fourth  Volume  of  Domnach-mor  of  Moy-Coba  ;  and  of  Dam- 

this  work,  at  that  date,  Art.   i.     It  seems  natan  of  Slieve  Bethad  [Slieve  Beagh,   in 

clear,  therefore,  that  she  could  not  have  been  Tyrone,  near  its  junction  with   Fermanagh 

mother  to  the  present  saint.  and  Monaghan]  :  and  of  Fursa,  the  pious,  in 

2  The    pedigree    of   our    saint,    on    the  Parona  [Peronne],  in  Gaul."     See  Rev.  Dr. 

mother'ssideisthusgiven : — "OnonACinjion  Reeves'  "  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Down, 

milcon  co  tn-bAepAcj\Aic  1  n-'OAijvi  mACAip  Connor  and  Dromore,"  Appendix  F,  pp.  189, 

tnochAe  n<Ven*oj\omA  o  ii-<\en'ojvomA  tocA  190. 

CuAn.  Ocuf  Com^Aipe  o   UifneAch  mroi.  3  See  his  Acts  at  the  23rd  of  June,  in  the 

Ocuf  tttAnc'riAii   o   LiAuh   tYlAncViAm  1  n-  Sixth  Volume  of  the  present  work,  Art.  i. 
"OeAibnA  beAc^A.     Ocur-  ColmAn  muilint>  *  See  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Down, 

o  "OAine  ChAechAin  1  tTOAt  THaua.     Ocup  Connor  and  Dromore,  "Appendix  LL.,  p.  379. 


94  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


Manchan ;  of  Colman  of  Muilinn  Daire  Chaechain  ;  of  Damhnatan  of 
Slieve  Bethad  ;  and  of  Fursey  in  Perrone.  The  present  Mac  Earc  is  likely 
to  have  been  born  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  He  is  called  Bishop 
of  Domnachmor,  in  old  Irish  Calendars,  and  his  festival  occurs,  on  the  6th 
day  of  July/  The  territory  of  IVlagh  Cobha  or  "  Campus  Coba,"  as  it  is 
Latinized,  embraced  a  considerable  portion  of  Iveagh,  extending  from  the 
parish  of  Donaghmore  to  that  of  Dromore.  It  was  cleared  of  a  wood,  in  a.m. 
2756,  during  the  reign  of  Irial  the  prophet.5  Saran  was  chief  of  this  district, 
in  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  and  he  was  the  fourth  in  descent  from  Eochaidh 
Cobha,  who  gave  denomination  to  that  territory.6  Donoughmore  of  Moy- 
Coba  7  was  the  former  name  of  his  place.  It  is  now  simply  called  Donagh- 
more parish,8  in  the  county  of  Down.  As  anciently  designated,  Domnachmore 
church  of  Moy-Coba,9  or  Donaghmore  according  to  its  modern  name,  is 
stated  to  have  been  founded  by  our  saint,  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury. Several  lords  or  chiefs  IO  formerly  ruled  over  Magh  Cobha,  according 
to  our  Irish  Annals,  and  the  territory  is  also  mentioned  in  these,11  as  the 
scene  of  various  exploits.  The  church  over  which  our  saint  presided  is 
situated  in  the  south-east  corner  of  Upper  Iveagh  barony,12  and  within  Dro- 
more diocese.  The  site  of  Donoghmore  ancient  church  was  about  sixty  feet 
south,  from  where  the  modern  Protestant  church  now  stands  ;  and,  an  ancient 
stone  cross,^  about  seven  feet  in  height,  remains  as  a  memorial  of  olden 
times.  During  the  middle  ages,  hereditary  Herenachs  I4  ruled  over  the  manor 
of  Donaghmore,  and  their  family  name  appears  frequently  in  old  Registers  of 
the  ecclesiastical  appointments.15  During  the  last  two  centuries,  the  tempo- 
ralities were  usurped  by  different  occupants.16  It  is  said,  that  beneath  a 
remarkable  old  cross  in  the  churchyard,  there  is  an  entrance  to  an  artificial 
cave,  which  extends  to  a  considerable  distance,  the  sides  being  formed  of 
loose  stones,  and  covered  with  large  flat  stones.     Near  the  centre,  there  is  a 


5  See  Rev.  Dr.  Jeoffry  Keating's  "History  Rev.  William  Reeves'  "  Ecclesiastical  Anti- 
of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  p.  318.  quities  of  Down,    Connor  and   Dromore," 

6  See  John   O'Donovan's    LeAbhArv    ha  n.  (m),  p.  112. 

5-Cea|\c,  or  the  "  Book  of  Rights,"  n.  (h),  I2  See   "  Parliamentary  Gazetteer  of  Ire- 

pp.  165,  166.  land,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  28. 

1  This  territory  was  so  called  from  Eoch-  '3  It  is  probable,  Tullynacross  townland, 

aidh  Cobha,  who  was  ancestor  of  the  tribe  which  was  the  glebe,  derived  its  name  from 

denominated  Ui  Eathach  Cobha,  who  were  this  Cross. 

seated  in  the  baronies  of  Upper  and  Lower  I4  The   O'Mac   Kerell   were    herenachs, 

Iveagh,    in   the    present  county   of  Down.  under  the  Archbishops  of  Armagh,  in  the 

See  Roderick  O'Flaherty's  "  Ogygia,"  pars.  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries, 

iii.,  cap.  lxxviii.,  pp.  371,  372.  IS  Thus  at  A.D.  1408,  John  O'Mccrela  was 

8  This  parish,  in  Upper  Iveagh  Barony,  presented  by  the  Primate  to  the  parish  church 
is  described,  on  the  "Ordnance  Survey  of  Donnachmore. — Reg.  Flem.,  fol.  19.  A.D. 
Townland  Maps  for  the  County  of  Down,"  1440,  John  O'McKerrell,  rector  of  Donagh- 
sheets  33,40,41,46.  more  died,  and  Gelacius  O'McKerrell  was 

9  According  to  the  Irish  of  Rev.  Jeoffry  appointed  in  his  stead.— Reg.  Swayne,  lib. 
Keating,  this  denomination  is  written,  niAJ  ii.,  p.  90.  A.D.  1487,  John  O'MaKrell, 
Cobai  1  ii-4oib-e4C4c,  "  Moy-Coba  in  rector  of  Dompnachmor — Reg.  Oct.,  fol. 
Iveagh."  288.     A.D.    1534,  Donald   Omakrell,  vicar 

10  At  the  years  683,  732,  734,  771,  796,  of  Donaghmore,  died,  and  Peter  Omakrell 
879,  965,  the  "  Annals  the  of  Four  Masters  "  succeeded  him. — Reg.  Crom.  p.  755. 

have  notices  of  them.    See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  ,6  Thus,  in  1622,  Sir  Edward  Trevor  held  the 

edition,  vols.  i.  and  ii.  twelve  towns  and  the  rectory,  which  consti- 

"  Thus,   at  the  years   1102,  1103,   1104,  tutcd  the  manor  of  Donaghmore,  under  the 

1 109,  11 13,  and  1 128,  notices  occur.  In  1 188,  See  of  Armagh.     Until  of  late,  the  same  had 

the  English  are  said  to  have  had  a  castle  been  held  in  the  form  of  nine  townlands, 

there.   In  1252,  the  castle  of  Moy  Coba  was  containing  2,045  acres,  under  the  Protestant 

erected  by  the  son  of  Maurice  Fitzgerald.  In  Primate  of  Armagh.      See    Rev.    William 

1253,  it  was  destroyed  by  Brian  O'Neill.  See  Reeves'  "Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Down, 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  95 


cross  or  transept,  forming  two  distinct  chambers.1?  As  was  generally  the 
case  with  churches,  anciently  the  seats  of  bishops,  the  adjacent  lands  became 
episcopal  property.18  Although  the  living  is  a  vicarage  in  the  diocese  of 
Dromore,  the  Primate  of  Armagh  became  rector  and  patron,  part  of  the  tithes 
being  payable  to  him,  and  a  part  to  the  incumbent.1'  For  some  cause,  which 
is  not  known,  lands  here  situated  were  annexed  to  the  See  of  Armagh,  and 
not  to  that  of  Dromore.20  The  celebrated  Dowagh  or  Danes'  Cast  passes 
through  the  western  extremity  of  this  parish.21 


Article  IV. — The  Three  Daughters  of  Maine,  St.  Dermor  or  Der- 
moria,  St.  Etne  or  Ethnea,  and  St.  Cumana,  of  Airiudh  Bainne.  At  the 
6th  of  July,  in  the  Martyrologies  of  Tallagh,1  of  Marianus  O'Gorman  and  of 
Maguire,  a  festival  is  entered  in  honour  of  TriingenaMoine,  or  the  three  daugh- 
ters of  Maine  in  AiriudBoinne.  Hewasdynastoveraplacecalled  Tullach  Maine. 
These  three  daughters  are  named  Dermor,  Etne  and  Cumman.2  The  Bollan- 
dists^  merely  enter  their  names  at  this  date,  and  acknowledge  their  obligations 
to  Father  Thomas  O'Sheerin,  who  extracted  his  notice  from  the  Martyrology  of 
Marianus  O'Gorman.*  It  would  appear,  from  the  Sanctilogium  Genealogicum, 
that  they — at  least  two  of  them — are  to  be  regarded  as  daughters  to  Cormac, 
son  of  Ailill,  and  they  were  descendants  from  Cathair  Mor,  King  of  Ireland. 5 
However  this  may  be,  there  is  much  uncertainty,  regarding  the  time  when 
these  holy  women  flourished,  and  that  exact  place  with  which  they  had  been 
connected.  It  is  said,  that  while  the  Apostle  St.  Patrick6  was  in  the  northern 
parts  of  Ireland,  he  came  to  a  place  called  Tulach  Maine.  Over  this  was  a 
chief,  named  Manius,  to  whom  he  preached  the  truths  of  Christianity.  To 
the  chief  and  his  wife,  St.  Patrick  gave  his  blessing.  She  conceived  and  gave 
birth  to  twin  daughters.  These  were  baptized  by  the  Irish  Apostle.  During 
the  period  of  this  mission,  as  we  are  told,  Patrick  did  not  enter  the  country 
about  Armagh ;  but,  he  went  into  the  region  of  the  Crimthann,?  in  which  he 

Connor  and  Dromore,"  n.  (m),  p.  112.  See  Rev.  William  Reeves'  "Ecclesiastical 

'7  This  cave  is  about  3  feet  wide,  5  feet  Antiquities  of  Down,  Connor  and  Dromore," 

high,  and  62  feet  long.     At  the  cross,  it  is  Appendix,  E.  E.,  pp.  316,  318. 
nearly  30  feet  broad.      See  Lewis'   "  Topo-  2I  See  Lewis'  " Topographical  Dictionary 

graphical  Dictionary  of  Ireland,"    vol.   i.,  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  p.  468. 
p.  468.  Article    iv. — l    Edited  by    Rev.    Dr. 

18  This  property  is  described  in  the  Ulster  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

Visitation  of    1622,    as    the    "  Mannor    of  2  See   Colgan's    "Trias    Thaumaturga," 

Donaghmore,  contayning  12  townes  and  one  Septima  Vita  S.  Patricii,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  ii.,  p. 

Rectorie."      The   same    were   lately   held,  149,  and  nn.  8,  9,  p.  184. 

under  the  See  of  Armagh,  and   are  known  3    See    "Acta   Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

by  these  names: — Annaghbane,  Ardkeeragh,  Julii  vi.      Among  the  pretermitted   saints, 

Aughnacaven,  Buskhill,Cargabane,  Donagh-  p.  250. 

more,  or  Tullynacross,  Ringclare,  Ringolish,  4   The   Latin   extract  runs  thus  :  "  Tres 

Ringbane,     Tullymurry.       See     the    Rev.  filias    Manii  de  Airiodh-boinne,   Dermora, 

William  Reeves'  "Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  Ethnea,  et  Cumana.     Festivitas  laudatarum 

of  Down,  Connor  and  Dromore,"  Appendix  Manii  filiarum." 

E.  E.,  pp.  306,  307.  5  A  note  by  Dr.  Todd  says  at  Cumman's 

19  See  "Parliamentary  Gazetteer  of  Ire-  name:  "Ethne  and  Cumman  were  both 
land,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  28.  virgins,  and  sisters,    daughters  of  Cormac, 

20  Among  those  tables  of  procurations,  re-  son  of  Ailill,  of  the  race  of  Cathair  Mor, 
lating  to  parishes  in  the  Diocese  of  Dro-  King  of  Ireland.  Sanct.  Gen.,  B.  of 
moire,    and    which    were    payable    to    the  Lecan." 

Primate  in  his    Provincial    Visitations,    as  6  See  his  Life  in  the  Third  Volume  of  this 

found  in  Primate  Dowdall's  Registry,  Dom-  work,  at  the  17th  of  March,  Art.  i.,   chap, 

naghmore  church  was  assessed  at  3  marks,  xvi. 

in  the  year  1422.    At  A.D.  1546,  we  find  the  1  This  was  in  the  southern  part  of  Orgialla, 

Rector  of  Donnaghmore  rated  for  5  marks,  and  it  is  now  known,  as  the  barony  of  Slane, 

and  the  vicar  of  the  same  place  for  3  marks.  in  Meath. 


96  LIVES   OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  6. 


erected  many  churches.8  The  children  we  speak  of — but  whose  names  are 
not  recorded — afterwards  became  religious,  and  they  received  the  veil,  like- 
wise, at  his  hands.  There  is  a  St.  Ethnea,  and  her  six  sisters,  mentioned  in 
our  Calendars.  She  had  seven  holy  brothers,  and  all  of  these  are  classed  as 
bishops.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Muredoc,  son  to  Fortchern,  son  of  Dicull, 
son  to  Crimthann,  son  of  Armedac,  son  of  Senach,  son  to  Aid  Loga,  son  of 
Oscuon,  son  to  Mienac,  son  of  Lugad,  son  to  Imchad,  son  of  Fidchur,  son 
to  Eochod,  sonofEnnius  Monchaoin,  son  of  Ross,  surnamed  Rig-foda,  son 
of  Fiach  Suidghe,  the  founder  of  the  Decies  family.9  With  her  uncle  on  the 
father's  side,  St.  Colman,  the  son  of  Fortchern — as  may  be  traced  in  the  fore- 
going genealogy — this  virgin  St.  Ethnea  was  venerated  at  a  place  called  Kill- 
Iain,10  now  probably  known  as  Killeen.  The  mother  of  St.  Columkille  bore 
the  name  of  Ethnea,  and  Colgan  hazards  a  conjecture,"  that  she  may  have 
been  one  of  the  three  female  saints  thus  called  in  our  Calendars,  at  the  26th I2 
of  February,  or  at  the  29th  of  March,  or  at  the  6th  of  July.  But,  as  all  are 
denominated  virgins,  this  is  not  a  probable  surmise,  independent  of  their 
recorded  descent.  If  we  are  to  credit  Colgan's  statement,  St.  Ethnea  and  St. 
Cumania  were  sisters  to  St.  Dermoria,  also  venerated  on  this  day. '3  How- 
ever, in  this  case,  the  latter  holy  virgin  must  have  been  the  daughter  of 
Manius  in  Airedh-banne.  Then,  according  to  the  same  calculation — as  she 
is  classed  among  the  virgins  veiled  by  St.  Patrick — she  must  have  flourished 
in  the  fifth  century. 


Article  V. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Dermor,  Daughter  of  Maine. 
A  previous  entry  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal *  disassociates  Dermor, 
daughter  of  Maine,  of  Airiudh  Bainne,  from  these  virgins  and  sisters  last- 
named,  who  are  said  to  have  been  daughters  to  Cormac,  son  of  Ailill.  But  her 
name  is  set  down  separately,  at  the  same  6th  of  July,  as  are  also  the  con- 
joined names  of  Ethne  and  Cumman. 


Article  VI. — Three  Daughters  of  Erni  or  Enuch  Dirmaigh. 
We  find  inserted  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  at  this  date,  Tri  ingena 
Erni  oc  Enuch  Dirmaighi.  This  same  entry  was  communicated  to  the  Bol- 
landists,  by  Father  Thomas  O'Sheerin,  and  it  is  set  down  by  them,  at  the  6th 
of  July.2 


Article  VII.— St.  Fedchonniad,  or  Fedhchu,  of  Uamadh  Fubi. 
The  simple  entry  of  Fedchonniad  is  met  with  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1 
at  the  6th  of  July.  The  Bollandists  *  acknowledge  their  indebtedness  to 
Father  Thomas  O'Sheerin,  for  furnishing  the  name  of  Fedchno  of  Magh  or 

8  See  Colgan's  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  '3  See  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Quinta 
Septima  Vita  S.  Patricii,  pars,  iii.,  cap.  ii.,  Appendix  ad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xxiii.,  p. 
p.  149,  and  nn.  8,  9,  p.  184.  270.      By  mistake,  however,  the   feast    is 

9  The  "  Menologic  Genealogy,"  cap.  xvi.,  printed  the  6th  of  June,  instead  of  the  6th 
and  Selbach,  cap.  xv.  of  July. 

10  See  Colgan's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber-  Article  v. — '  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and 
niae,"  xv.  Januarii,  Appendix  ad  Acta  S.        Reeves,  pp.  188,  189. 

Itae,  cap.  ii.,  p.  73.  Article  vi. —  ■    Edited  by   Rev.    Dr. 

11  See  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Quarta  Ap-       Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

pendix    ad    Acta    S.    Columbae,    cap.    i.,  2    See    "Acta   Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

p.  477«  Julii  vi.     Among  the   pretermitted  saints, 

12  The  printer  has  inserted  23rd— a  mis-       p.  250. 

take.  Article  vii.—  '    Edited  by   Rev.    Dr. 


July  6.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  97 


Campus  Fuibh — eulogised  by  Marianus  0'Gorman3 — at  this  date.  At  the 
same  day,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,*  the  name  Fedhchu,  of  Uamadh 
Fubi,  is  mentioned  as  having  been  venerated. 


Article  VIII. — Reputed  Festival  of  a  St.  Fuidbech.  Another 
entry  of  Fuidbech  is  seen  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  for  this  day.  We 
incline  to  the  opinion,  that  it  must  have  been  owing  to  the  oversight  or  igno- 
rance of  some  copyist,  and  we  can  hardly  doubt,  but  that  he  is  the  same  per- 
son as  the  Saint  Fedhchu,  whose  name  occurs,  in  the  more  recent  Calendar. 


Article  IX. — St.  Flann  Mac  Cellach,  Bishop  of  Rechrann. 
{Eighth  Century .]  In  a  Calendar,  compiled  by  the  Rev.  William  Reeves,  we  find 
entered  at  the  6th  of  July,  St.  Flann,  the  son  of  Kellech,  son  to  Cronnmael, 
Bishop  of  Rechrann.  But,  whether  this  place  was  in  the  east  of  Bregia, 
county  of  Dublin,  or  in  the  county  of  Antrim,  as  said  by  Dr.  Reeves,1  Dr. 
O'Donovan  hesitates  to  decide.  In  our  Annals,  the  death  of  St.  Flann  is  set 
down,  as  occurring,  in  the  year  734.2 


Article  X. — Reputed  Feast  of  a  St.  Golinia,  or  Golina,  Virgin. 
The  Bollandists  state,1  that  the  feast  of  St.  Golinia  is  to  be  found  in  the  Irish 
Calendars,  at  the  6th  of  July ;  but,  they  suspect  there  is  some  corruption  of 
the  entry,  and  they  desire  further  enlightenment  regarding  her.  Florarius  2 
and  Henry  Fitzsimon3  enter  St.  Golina,  virgin,  at  this  same  date/  The  same 
name,  written  Colinia,  occurs  at  the  6th  of  July,  in  the  anonymous  Calendar, 
published  by  O'Sullevan  Beare.5 


Article  XI. — Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Silvester,  Companion  of 
St.  Palladius,  in  Marr,  Scotland.  The  Bollandists,1  having  found  in 
Dempster  and  Ferrarius  a  festival  of  St.  Sylvester  mentioned  at  the  nth  of 
June,2  referred  to  this  date,  when  they  were  about  to  treat  of  St.  Palladius. 
But  nothing  had  been  found  to  warrant  any  special  notice;  at  least,  we  are 
not  furnished  with  any  particulars,  which  might  enable  us  to  understand,  if 
any  such  feast  should  have  place  in  the  Calendar,  for  the  introduction  seems 
to  have  been  on  the  sole  authority  of  Dempster,  who  may  be  regarded  in  the 
double  capacity  of  inventive  saint-maker  and  of  unscrupulous  saint-stealer. 


Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  (z),  ibid, 

2  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Article  x.—  1  See  "Acta  Sanctorum," 
Julii  vi.  Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  tomus  ii.,  Julii  vi.  Among  the  pretermitted 
p.  250.  feasts,  p.  249. 

3  Thus  :  "heros  nostra;  gentis  de  Autro  2  Thus:  "In  Hibernia,  Golinise  virginis." 
Fube."  We  suspect  the  reading  should  be  3In  "  Catalogus  aliquorum  Sanctorum 
"  Antro  Fube."  Hibernian" 

*  Edited  by  Drs.   Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  *    See    O'Sullevan     Beare's     "  Historic 

188,  189.  Cathoiicce  Ibernire  Compendium,"  tomus  i., 

Article  viii. —  '    Edited   by   Rev.  Dr.  lib.  iv.,  cap.  xii.,  p.54. 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  5  See  ibid.,  cap.  xi.,  p.  50. 

Article     ix.—  »     See     "Ecclesiastical  Article  xi.—  1  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum," 

Antiquities  of  Down,  Connor  and  Dromore,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  vi.     Among  the  pretermitted 

Appendix    T,   p.  249,   and  Appendix  LL,  feasts,  p.  249. 

p.  379.  2  See  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this  work,  at 

2  See  Dr.    O'Donovan's   "  Annals  of  the  that   date,    for  a  slight   reference   to  him, 

Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  336,  337,  and  n.  Art.  iv. 

G 


98  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  7. 


^ffaentb  2Bap  of  3ulp, 


ARTICLE  I.—  ST.  MAOLRUAIN  OR  MAELRUAIN,  ABBOT  OF  TALLAGII, 
COUNTY  OF  DUBLIN. 

[EIGHTH    CENTURY.} 
CHAPTER     I. 

INTRODUCTION — PARENTAGE  AND  BIRTH  OF  ST.  MAE1.RUAN — HE  FOUNDS  A  RELIGIOUS 
INSTITUTE  AT  TALLAGH  — DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PLACE— HE  FORMS  A  SOCIETY  OF 
CULDEES   THERE — ANECDOTES — PERIOD   OF    FOUNDATION. 

SAINTLY  biography,  says  an  eminent  trench  writer,  is  one  of  the  most 
naif  recitals  of  the  middle  ages;  it  inspirited  the  weak  and  it  terrified 
the  powerful  j  it  furnished  a  great  bridle  to  curb  society,  and  to  preserve  it 
from  the  violence  of  war.  The  legends  or  myths  of  Christianity  were  even 
in  harmony  with  social  usages  ;  while  through  them,  holy  places  were  held 
sacred  from  the  fierce  intrusion  of  armed  men.  There  the  peaceful  were  pro- 
tected, and  their  weakness  was  respected  ;  under  the  vivid  impressions  of  Faith, 
morality  had  been  observed,  even  through  the  stories  of  astounding  miracles.1 
The  special  contemporary,  friend  and  companion,  who  knew  the  character 
of  St.  Maelruan  so  well,  has  set  forth  his  fair  renown,  at  this  date,  in  the  cele- 
brated "  Feilire."2  This  must  have  been  one  of  the  earliest  commemorations 
of  the  present  holy  man.  The  Bollandists  3  have  only  very  briefly  recorded 
the  name  of  Moelruanus  Episcopus,  at  the  7th  of  July.  There  are  notices 
of  him,  likewise,  in  the  work  of  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan.*  From  all  we  can  learn 
regarding  him,  Maelruain  belonged  to  the  race  of  Eochaidh,  son  to  Muiread- 
hach,  who  sprung  from  the  seed  of  Heremon.s  The  father  of  St.  Maelruan 
is  called  Colman.  Broicseach  was  the  name  of  his  mother.6  We  are  not 
informed  about  the  place  of  his  birth.  This  latter  event  occurred,  most  pro- 
bably about  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted, 
that  we  have  so  few  personal  records  of  a  saint,  who  was  so  very  remarkable 
in  his  time,  and  whose  life  had  such  a  marked  influence  on  the  revival  of  reli- 
gion and  literature  in  the  early  Irish  Church.  We  do  not  know  where  he  had 


Article  i. — Chapter  i. —  '  See  Cape-  Irish  Manuscript  Series,   vol.  i.      On  the 

Ague's  "Charlemagne,"  tome  i.,  chap,  ii.,  Calendar  of  Oengus.  p.  cix. 

p.  39.  3    See    "Acta     Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

2  Thus  we  find  the  stanza,  taken  from  the  Julii    vii.     Among   the  pretermitted   feasts, 

"  Leabliar  Breac"  copy,  with  the  English  p.  452. 

translation  of  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.  :—  4  See  "Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland," 

vol.  Hi.,  chap.  xx„  sect,  vi.,  p.   232,  and  on. 

LAmoppluAgA-o  tigniAp  46,  47,  pp.  233,  234. 

pApmern  cpom  coe-oen  S  One  hundred  and  eighty-one  Irish  kings 

moelpu<Mii  A-opech  pichco  are  said  to  have  reigned  from   the   lime  of 

5piAn  An  nvopi  ^oe-oel.  Ihremon  to  Roderick.     See  Ciraldi  Cam- 

brensis  Opera,  vol.  v.     Edited  by  James  F. 

"With  a  great  beautiful  host,   Parmenius'  Dimock,  M.A.,  "  Topographia  Ilibernica," 

heavy    troop,     Moelruain    ran  to   heaven,  Dist.  in.,  cap.  xlv.,  p.  iSS. 

splendid  sun   of  the  isle   of  the   Gael." —  •  According  to  a  note,    in    the   I.eabhar 

"Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Brcac  copy  of  the  Calendar  of  St.  yEngus. 


July  7.]  LIVES  OE  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  99 


been  educated,  although  it  seems  to  be  a  fact  well  established,  that  he  had 
been  well  grounded  in  a  religious  and  literary  training,  before  he  thought  of 
establishing  his  own  very  celebrated  school.  He  must  have  resolved  on  leading 
a  religious  life,  when  young,  and  he  wns  probably  advanced  to  holy  orders, 
when  he  was  of  an  age  to  assume  their  obligations.  Our  writers,  who  allude 
to  him,  call  him  a  bishop ;  but,  it  does  not  seem  likely,  that  he  attained  to  that 
distinction,  at  least,  until  he  had  first  been  in  charge  of  his  celebrated  monas- 
tic institute,  for  which  he  had  framed  special  Rules.  However,  there  seems 
to  be  no  very  ancient  authority  or  evidence,  which  might  warrant  us  in  sup- 
posing, that  he  had  attained  to  the  episcopal  rank. 

A  pious  and  an  illustrious  King  of  Leinster,  named  Donnchadh  or  Don- 
och,  who  flourished  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century,  is  said  to  have 
bestowed  the  site  of  Tamlacht  on  St.  Maelraan.?  But,  as  he  only  ruled  over 
the  province  for  one  year,  and  perished  in  battle  towards  the  close  of  a.d. 
727,  this  seems  too  early  a  date  for  the  religious  foundation.  From  Dun- 
chadh,8  the  region  around  Tamlacht  was  subsequently  called  Ui-Dunchada.9 
This  is  known  to  have  comprised  that  portion  of  the  present  county  of 
Dublin,  through  which  the  River  Dodder  flows.10  It  is  more  generally 
believed,  however,  that  Cellach,  son  of  Dunchadh,11  King  of  Leinster,12  gave 
Tamlacht  to  St.  Mae  1  main.  Its  earliest  name  was  derived  from  the  first 
recorded  pestilence,13  or  Tam/i,  which  destroyed  Parthalon's  colony,  and  which 
is  referred  by  the  Four  Masters  to  a.m.  2820,  according  to  the  long  chronology  of 
the  Septuagint.  The  entry  by  those  annalists  is,  "Nine  Thousand  of  Parthalon's 
people  died  in  one  week  on  Sean-Mhagh-Ealta-Edair T* — namely,  five  thou- 
sand men  and  four  thousand  women."**  Whence  it  was  named  Tamlacht  Muin- 
tire  Parthaloin ;  while,  after  the  lapse  of  ages,  this  place  was  called  Tallagh,near 
Dublin.10     The  tumuli  of  these  early  colonists,   who  died  from  that  sudden 


7  See  Professor  Eugene  O'Curry's   "  Lee-  for  Tallacht  or  Tamlaght. 

tures  on  the  Manuscript  Materials  of  Ancient  M  This  destruction  of  the  colony  of  Par- 

Iiish  History,"  Lect.  xvii.,  p.  364.  thalon,    which  is  said  to  have  occurred  in 

8  He  had  a  son  Faelan,  father  of  Bran,  "the  old  plain  of  the  valley  of  the  flocks," 
father  to  Murchadhach,  father  of  Faelan,  stretching  between  Ben  Edair,  now  known  as 
father  to  Lorcan,  father  of  Dunchadh,  from  Howth,  and  Tallaght,  and  on  which-the  city 
whom  descended  the  families  of  Mac  Gilla-  of  Dublin  now  stands,  is  thus  mentioned  in  the 
mocholmog,  of  O'Byrne,  and  of  O'Toole,  so  "Book  of  Invasions,"  contained  in  the 
famous  in  the  history  of  Leinster.  "  Book  of  Leinster."  "  In  Sean-Magh-Etair 

9  This  territory  Dunchadh  was  awarded  Parthalon  became  extinct  in  a  thousand  men 
to  him  as  an  inheritance.  and  four  thousand    women,  of  one   week's 

10  See  "The  Topographical  Poems  of  mortality,"  or "  Tamh"  This  translation  is 
John  O'Dubhagain  and  Giolla  na  Naomh  by  Professor  Eugene  O'Curry.  This  is  the 
O'iluidhrin,"  edited  by  John  O'Donovan,  oldest  manuscript  account  of  that  pestilence 
LL.D.,  pp.  xiii.,  xiv.,  and   nn.  58,  59,  and  that  we  now  possess. 

p.  liv.,  n.  438.  '5  Likewise,  in  an  ancient  bardic  poem,  in 

11  He  was  the  son  of  Murchadh,  son  to  the  ''Book  of  Leinster,  it  is  said  :  "  Partha- 
Bran  Mut,  or  the  Silent,  belonging  to  the  Ui  Ion's  people,  to  the  number  of  nine  thou- 
Dunlaing.  sand,  died  of  Tamh  in  one  week." 

12  He  fell  in  the  battle  of  Almhaor  Allen,  ,6  In  the  "Chronicon  Scotorum  MSS.," 
in  Kildare,  by  the  sword  of  his  brother  as  translated  by  Mr.  O'Curry,  the  following 
Faelan,  ancestor  of  the  Ui  Faelan,  or  the  entry  occurs  :  "  In  one  thousand  five  hun- 
O'Byrnes.  tired  and  four  (400  according  to   Eochaidh 

13  In  a  "  Report  of  the  Census  Commis-  O'Flinn)  from  Parthalon's  arrival  in  Ireland 
sioners  of  Ireland  for  the  year  1 85 1,"  part  v.,  till  the  first  mortality  (  Duiiie-bhadh,  i.e., 
vol.  i.,  we  find  a  most  valuable  annalistic  human  mortality)  that  came  in  Ireland  after 
reference  to  diseases  and  pestilences,  in  this  the  Deluge  ;  that  is,  the  death  by  pestilence 
country,  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  pre-  (Tamh)  of  Parthalon's  people,  which  hap- 
sent.  In  this  able  report,  which  does  so  pened  on  Monday,  in  the  calends  of  May, 
much  credit  to  the  learning  and  research  of  and  continued  till  the  Sunday  following.  It 
Sir  William  Robert  Wilde,  we  find  various  was  from  that  mortality  ( ' Dnine-bhadh)  of 
accounts,  which  serve  to  furnish  a  derivation  Parthalon's  people  the  name  of  the  (7 aim- 


100 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  7. 


epidemic,  can  still  be  seen  upon  the  hills  in  its  vicinity.  This  is  the  first 
recorded  pestilence  in  Ireland.  The  Irish  word  Tamk  means  an  epidemic 
pestilence;  and  the  term  Tamhleadit — the  plague  monument1? — which  fre- 
quently enters  into  topographical  names  in  Ireland,  signifies  a  place  where  a 
number  of  persons  cut  off  by  pestilence  were  interred  together.18 

At  present,  this  is  the  well-known  village  "9  and  parish,  in  the  barony  of 
Uppercross,  and  in  the  county  of  Dublin.  It  lies  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
mountains,  which  form  so  beautiful  an  outline,  as  seen  from  the  metropolis  of 


Villa 


igh,  County  of  Dul 


Ireland.  It  lies  about  five  miles  from  the  city.  The  village  is  beautifully 
situated,  in  a  fine  open  country.20  This  place  is  said  to  have  been  called 
Tavellagh  or  Taulagh-Maelruny,  from  having  been  founded  and  afterwards 
dedicated  to  the  present  saint.21 

Amid  the  prevailing  laxity  of  monastic  discipline,  here  St.  Maelruain 
gathered  around  him  a  fraternity,  for  whom  he  ordained  certain  rules  of 
stricter  observance.  These  consisted  partly  of  precepts  for  conventual  and 
sacerdotal  guidance  ;  but,  they  were  especially  distinguished,  by  the  principles 
laid  down,  and  by  the  regulations  prescribed  for  religious  worship  and  the 
exercise  of  devotion.22  It  is  very  likely,  that  a  very  numerous  community 
was  formed,  and  the  members  placed  themselves  under  his  guidance,  as 
Abbot  and  founder  of  a  new  order.  A  list  of  the  u  unity-folk  of  Maelruain 
of  Tallagh" — viz.,  the  contemporaries  with  whom  he  had  contracted  an  inti- 


leachta  (the  death  or  mortality  place)  of  the 
men  of  Ireland  is  derived." 

17  See  the  version  of  Sanar*  Cho]\niAic,  or 
Cormac's  " Glossary, ''  translated  and  anno- 
tated by  the  late  John  O'Donovan,  LL.D. 
Edited  with  Notes  and  Indices,  by  Whitley 
Stokes,  LL.D.,  p.  160. 

18  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters,  "vol.  i.,  pp.  8, 9,  andn.  (c),  ibid, 

19  The  accompanying  illustration,  drawn 
on  the  spot  by  William  F.  Wakeman,  and 
by  him   transferred  to  the  wood,   has  been 


engraved  by  Mrs.  Millard. 

Lewis'  "  Topographical  Dictionary 
of  Ii eland,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.   587,  588. 

■'    See  John   D' Alton  S   "  History  of  the 
County  of  Dublin,"  p.  761. 

'•  llie  Culdees  of  the  British 
Islands,  as  they  appear  in  History  :  with  an 
Appendix  of  Evidences."  By  William 
Reeves,  D.D.,  &c,  part  ii.,  sect,  ii.,  p.  7. 
Dublin,  1864,  4I0.  This  remarkably  re- 
searched and  learned  Treatise  seems  to  ex- 
haust all  that  can  be  known  regarding  the 


July  7.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  101 


mate  union — is  to  be  found,  in  the  detached  ten  folia,2*  belonging  to  the 
Book  of  Leinster.24  A  stanza  2*  on  the  same  page,'6  and  enumerating  these 
men,  is  attributed  to  Cormac  Mac  Cuillanain. 

Few  personal  anecdotes,  regarding  this  holy  Abbot  Maelruain  have  been  pre- 
served. A  commentator  on  the  "  Feilire  "  of  St.  yEngus,  at  this  date,  has  an 
account  of  a  certain  thief,  who  stole  the  only  cow,  belonging  to  the  Ostiarius  of 
Mailruain  of  Tallaght.  The  latter 2?  was  urgent  on  his  patron  saint  to  avenge  the 
theft ;  but,  Maelruain  advised  the  door-keeper  to  bide  his  time,  and  that  the 
devil  should  inflict  on  the  thief  still  greater  evil,  while  his  punishment  in  hell 
should  be  the  heavier,28  because  the  transgressor  was  permitted  to  commit 
more  bad  actions  the  longer  he  continued  in  this  life.  There  is  extant  a 
romantic  Irish  poem,  entitled  u  Legendary  Story  of  St.  Maelruan,  first  bishop 
of  Tallagh."2?  From  the  character  of  the  heading,  we  may  well  suppose,  it  is 
not  a  genuine  account  of  any  incident  in  his  career. 

It  is  stated,  that  St.  Maelruan  there  founded  a  church,  in  honour  of  God 
and  of  St.  Michael  the  Archangel,  in  the  year  769.3°  This,  likewise,  is  the 
date  given  for  the  first  erection  of  Tamlacht-Mailruain,  in  the  u  Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters."*1  This  church  of  Tamlacht  was  founded,  about  twenty-four 
years  after  the  institution  by  Chrodegang  of  the  order  of  Canons  in  his  church 
of  Metz,  and  to  whom  the  title  of  Fratres  Dominici  had  been  given.  It  was 
subsequently  changed  to  that  of  Canonici.  They  were  an  intermediate  class, 
between  monks  and  secular  priests.  They  adopted  to  a  great  extent  the  dis- 
cipline without  the  vows  of  monks,  while  they  discharged  the  office  of  minis- 
ters in  various  churches.*2  Possibly,  St.  Maelruain's  institution  may  have 
been  borrowed  from,  or  may  have  had  some  features  in  common  with,  the 
order  of  Canons.  It  seems  to  be  pretty  well  established,  that  both  the  Keledei 
of  Scotland,  as  well  as  the  Colidei  of  Ireland,  exhibited  the  main  characteris- 
tics of  secular  canons  in  their  discipline,  during  the  ages  that  succeeded  this 
period. 33 


ancient  Culdees.  County  of  Dublin,"  p.  761. 

33  At  the  end  of  column  3.  3°  See  Professor  Eugene  O'Curry's  "  Lec- 

24  Now  preserved  in  the  Franciscan  Con-  tures  on  the  Manuscript  Materials  of  Ancient 
vent,  Merchants'  Quay,  Dublin.  Irish  History,"  Lect.  xvii.,  p.  364. 

25  At  the  end  of  column  5.  3I  See  Dr.    O'Donovan's  edition,   vol.  i., 

26  The  same  stanza  is  copied  in  the  lower  pp.  272,  273. 

margin,  apparently  in  Colgan's  handwriting.  32  In  817,  a  new  rule  and  additional  regu- 

27  He  said  :  "  I  me  not  thankful  for  the  lations  had  been  enacted  for  the  order  of 
patron   that  avengeth  not  my  cow  on  the  Canons,  at  the  Council  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
thief,  for  we  see  him  without  want  of  cattle  33  See  Rev.   Dr.   Reeves   on    "  The  Cul- 
or  of  children  or  of  health."  dees  of  the  British  Islands,"  &c,   part  ii., 

28  This   is  represented  as    having    been  sect,  ii.,  pp.  9,  10. 

expressed  in  an  Irish  rami,  the  composition  Chapter    ii. —  x    In   that  copy   of  the 

of  St.  Maelruain  : —  "  Martyrology   of  Tallagh  "    found   in  the 

"  Book  of  Leinster,"  as  edited  by  Dr.  Robert 

SeAnj;  hiperiMm  1/m-o  jroruiech  Atkinson,  we  read  at  that  date,  the  follow- 

1nichiAH  CAingen  ocuf  bj\ech  ing   entry:  "  iiii.    Idus  Augusti   Maelruain 

SechmAlL  alerTA  Ar\cech  16  cum  suis   reliquiis  Sanctorum   martyrum   et 

Sir*ifiur»tt  nihimApgo.  virginum    ad     Tamlachtain    venit."       See 

p.  361  c. 

It  is  thus  translated  into  English  by    Dr.  2  On  a  6th  of  September,  as  we  find  it  set 

Whitley  Stokes:  "Seng  t  sessam  (?)  have  down  thus :   "hi.  Non.  Sep.  Adventus  reli- 

we  for  every  one,  afar  offtrial  and  judgment,  quiarum    Scethi    filiae  Mechi   ad  Tamlach- 

oblivion  of  their  advantage  on  every  day,  tain."     See  ibid.,  p.  362^. 

eternal    hell    (it    is)   not    a    falsehood." —  3  A  copy  of  this  is  given,  in  a  large  Parch- 

"  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  ment  4to  Manuscript,  No.  223,  belonging  to 

Irish    Manuscript    Series,    vol.    i.      Notes  the  Messrs.  Hodges  and  Smith   collection, 

from  the  Lebar  Brecc,  pp.  91,  92,  p.  cxvii.  preserved  in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

29  See  John  D'Alton's    "  History  of  the  4  For  a  fuller  account  of  this  valuable  his- 


io2  LIVES  01  7HE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  7. 


CHAPTER     II. 

THE  LITERARY  COMPOSITIONS  OF  ST.  MAELRUAIN— DEATH  OF  CEALLACH,  AND  HIS 
BURIAL  AT  TAMLACHT— ST.  /ENGUS  THE  CULDEE  JOINS  THAT  COMMUNITY— THE 
CULDEES— RULE  OF  ST.   MAELRUAIN. 

Already  have  we  alluded  to  the  date  for  St.  Maelruain's  establishment  at 
Tallagh  ;  and,  if  we  may  draw  an  inference  from  a  Festival  set  down  in  its 
Calendar,  the  10th  of  August  was  a  day  on  which  the  holy  founder  brought  to 
or  deposited  at  that  place  the  relics  of  venerated  Martyrs  and  Virgins,1  with 
suitable  rites  and  ceremonies.  It  is  probable,  that  on  the  occasion,  the 
church  there  and  its  altar  had  been  consecrated ;  for  we  know,  that  the  con- 
tinuous practice,  in  the  case  of  such  ceremonials,  is  to  place  relics  of  the 
saints  within  the  altar-stone  on  which  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  offered. 
Another  supposition  may  be  arrived  at,  however,  that  those  relics  had  been 
conveyed  in  procession,  and  had  been  placed  in  shrines,  which  were  placed 
probably  over  the  high  altar ;  for  we  know,  likewise,  that  at  a  period  sub- 
sequent, other  sacred  relics 2  had  arrived  at  Tallaght,  and  that  the  annual 
commemoration  of  both  events  was  regarded  as  matter  for  observance  there, 
both  by  the  monks-  and  by  the  people,  who  annually  assembled  to  pray 
before  those  sacred  remains. 

Besides  his  other  excellent  virtues  and  accomplishments,  St.  Maelruain 
is  traditionally  regarded  as  having  indulged  in  literary  work,  and  he  is 
credited  with  having  been  a  poet.  Yet  of  his  genuine  metrical  compositions, 
we  doubt  if  many  of  them  have  been  preserved.  An  Irish  poem  is  said  to 
have  been  composed  by  St.  Maelruan  of  Tallagh. 3  A  much  more  important 
compilation  has  come  down  to  our  times,  and  it  is  known  as  the  Martyrolo- 
gium  Tamlactense,  or  the  "  Maityrology  of  Tallaght."*  It  has  been  supposed, 
that  the  conception  and  authorship  of  this  work  were  due,  in  the  first  instance, 
to  St.  Maelruain  ;5  although,  it  is  thought,  he  received  assistance  in  its  pre- 
paration, from  the  celebrated  St.  /Engus  the  Culdee,6  who  was  a  subject  and 
an  inmate  of  his  monastery.  That  we  have  not  the  original  draft  of  St.  Mael- 
ruain's composition  is  proved  from  the  fact,  that  his  own  name  has  been 
entered  in  the  preserved  and  published  copies,  at  this  same  day.  However, 
it  seems  most  probable,  that  St.  ^ngus  added  to  the  work,  after  St.  Mael- 
ruain's death  ;  and,  even  after  the  death  of  the  former,  we  find  the  insertion  of 
St.  /Engtis'*  own  name,  so  thatthere  must  have  been  interpolations,  in  nearly  all 
the  later  copies.  Indeed,  it  was  no  unusual  custom  for  unauthorized  persons  to 
tamper  with  records  of  this  character,  by  introducing  items  of  information  on 
their  own  responsibility,  and  to  complete  what  they  deemed  to  be  defects  or 
omissions.  This  was  especially  the  case,  with  regard  to  copies  of  Annals  or 
of  Calendars,  preserved  in  our  monasteries. 7 

It  should  seem,  that  the  temporal  patron  of  Tallaght  must  have  preserved 
very  close  personal  relations  with  St.  Maelruain  and  his  community.     This 


torical  and  ecclesiastical  record,  the  reader  6  On    its    title   lias    been    found,    also., 

is  referred  to  the  First  Volume  of  this  work.  "  Martyrologium  Aengussii  filii  Ilua-obhlenii 

Introduction,  sect.   ii.     Also  to  the  Third  et  Moelruaiii." 

Volume,  at  the  nth  of  March,  Ait.  i.,  in  the  1 1t  should  be  very  unwarrantable  to  charge 

Life  of  St.  /Engusius  Hagiographus  or  St.  these  additions  as  attempted  forgeries— as 

./Engus  the  Culdee,  chap.  iii.  some  writers  have  illogically  done — on  those 

s  See  Kev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "  Ecclesiastical  who  inserted  such  comments,  as  well  as  on 

History  of  Ireland,"  vol.   iii.,    chap,   xx.,  the  monks,  who  preserved  such  records,  and 

sect,  vi.,  n.  47,  p.  224.  who  transmitted  them  to  posterity. 


July  7.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  103 


may  fairly  be  inferred,  from  the  simple  entry  which  remains  to  us  of  an  Irish 
dynast's  closing  career.  According  to  the  "Annals  of  the  Four  Masters/'8 
Cellach  died  a.d.  771.  He  is  said  to  have  been  buried  at  the  church  in  Tal- 
laght ;  and,  no  doubt,  for  many  long  succeeding  generations,  the  pious  com- 
munity there  offered  up  Masses  and  prayers  for  their  deceased  benefactor. 
We  believe  the  following  story  to  be  apocryphal,  as  it  seems  unchronological. 
Mainnsena,9  the  mother  of  Brenaiun,10  of  Biorr,  as  we  are  told,11  came  to 
Saighir,  and  she  was  desirous  of  going  to  the  Island  of  Doiinhle.  This  is  held 
to  have  been  the  present  Cape  Clear  Island,  by  well-known  writers,12  who  have 
furnished  some  description  and  illustrations  of  that  place.  As  we  have  seen 
already,^  the  greater  probability  is,  that  it  lay  between  the  counties  of  Wex- 
ford and  Waterford.  "  Go  not,"  said  Ciaran  of  Saighir,1*  "  but,  it  is  in 
Tamhlacht  thy  own  resurrection  and  the  resurrection  of  thy  son  Brenaiun 
shall  be."  It  does  not  appear,  that  Tamlacht  had  a  cemetery  before  the 
eighth  century.  One  of  the  most  interesting  and  instructive  incidents  of  the 
period  while  Maelruain  ruled  over  the  monastery  at  this  place,  was  the  admis- 
sion of  the  celebratedSt.  ^Engusthe  Culdee15 — then  little  known  to  fame  and 
wishing  himself  to  be  altogether  unnoticed — as  an  humble  postulant.  The 
celebrity  of  St.  Maelruin's  institute,  and  the  congeniality  of  its  discipline  to 
his  peculiar  habits,  probably  induced  St.  ^Engus  to  leave  Dysart  Enos  and  to 
visit  Tamlacht.  For  a  long  time,  he  served  there  as  a  mere  farm  labourer, 
and  only  an  accident  brought  him  prominently  under  the  observation  of  the 
Abbot  St.  Maelruan.  Afterwards  they  became  bosom  friends,  while  their 
tastes  in  literature  and  sympathies  in  holy  exercises  continued  to  the  close  of 
St.  Maelruan's  career.  Elsewhere,  this  narrative  has  been  written,  and  it  is 
only  necessary  to  refer  the  reader  to  those  pages,  which  serve  to  illustrate 
the  biography  of  both  saints. 

Those  religious,  known  as  the  Culdees,  were  at  Tallagh,  during  the  time 
of  St.  Melruan.16     Although  from  the  Lives  of  St.  Patrick  and  of  other  very 
early  Irish  saints,  we  find  the  designation  Culdee  applied  to  holy  servants  of 
God  ;  yet,  it  has  been  thought,  this  term  was  not  in  vogue  in  their  time,  but 
that  it  was  subsequently  applied. x?  So  far  as  we  can  understand,  the  brothers 


8  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  edition,  vol.  i.,  ^Engussius  Hagiographus  or  St.  /Engus  the 
pp.  376,  377.  Culdee,  in  the  Third  Volume  of  this  work 

9  A  note  by  Dr.  Todd  says,  at  the  fore-  at  the  nth  of  March,  Art.  i.,  chaps,  ii., 
going  word,  Mainnsena.    "  This  paragraph  iii.,  iv. 

seems  intended  as  a  note  on  Tamlachta,  not  l6  See  notices  of  the  Cele  De  or  Culdees, 

as  putting  Mainnsena  as  a  saint  on  this  day.  in  the  Leabhar  Breac,  fol.  5,  a,  b,  Catalogue 

Her  name  does  not  occur  in  the  other  Calen-  of  Irish  Manuscripts  in  the  Royal  Irish  Aca- 

dars."  demy,  p.  597. 

10  The  death  of  St.  Brendan  of  Birr  oc-  t?  There  is  a  poem,  ascribed  to  St.  Cart- 
curred,  on  the  29th  of  November,  a.d.  571.  hach  or  St.  Mochuda  of  Lismore — who  died 

11  By  the  O'Clerys.  a.d.  636 — and  which  gives  a  metrical  Rule 

12  In  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  books  it  is  of  the  Celi  De,  to  be  found  in  a  Manuscript, 
called  "  Insula  Sancta  Clara,"  and  in  the  old  belonging  to  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  and 
Irish  MS.,  "  Inish  Domhly."  See  Mr.  and  which  is  classed  II  2,  16,  cols.  224,  225.  It 
Mrs.  Hall's  "  Ireland  :  its  Scenery,  Charac-  is  headed  "Do  chelm  "Oe  mpo  np,  and  it  is 
ter,"  &c,  vol.  i.,  pp.  137,  138.  comprised  in  twelve  stanzas.     It  forms  the 

13  In  the  present  volume,  at  the  4th  day  of  seventh  division  in  a  metrical  composition  of 
July,  in  the  Acts  of  St.  Fionnbarr,  Abbot  of  145  stanzas,  and  it  immediately  succeedsa  di- 
Inis  Doimhle,  county  of  Wexford,  Art.  i.  vision  containing  nineteen  stanzas,  on    the 

14  This  saint  flourished  in  the  fifth  cen-  duties  of  a  monk.  It  may  be  doubted,  how- 
tury,  according  to  the  common  belief.  See  ever,  that  this  is  a  genuine  composition  of 
his  Life,  at  the  5th  of  March,  in  the  Third  St.  Carthach.  The  Irish  ranns,  with  an 
Volume  of  this  work,  Art.  i.  English   translation,     may    found  in  '.'  The 

15  See  these  and  the  following  particulars  Culdees  of  the  British  Islands,  as  they  appear 
more   fully   set   forth,    in   the   Life   of  St.  in  History,"  &c,  by  the  Very  Rev.  William 


io4  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  -  [July 


of  this  ancient  Irish  monastic  order  were  chiefly  clerical  recluses,18  observing 
a  distinctive  habit  of  living  from  other  monks.  Perhaps  we  should  include 
among  this  fraternity  some — if  not  all — of  those  who  are  called  the  folk  of  the 
unity  of  Maelruain,  namely  :  Maelruain  of  Tallagh,  Maeltuile,  son  of  Noec- 
huire,  Maelanfaid  of  Dairinis  mor  (County  Waterford) ;  Fland  the  fair,  son 
of  Fairchellach,  in  Daire  na  fland  (Derrynavlan,  County  Tipperary);  Fland, 
son  of  Duibthinne,  in  Daire  na  fland  ;  Flannan,  son  of  Tairdelbach,  in  Cill  da 
lua  (Killaloe) ;  Maeldithrub,  namely,  the  anchorite  of  Tir  da  glass  (Terry- 
glass,  County  Tipperary)  j  Dimman  of  Ara  (Aran  Island)  j  Dalbach  of  Cul 
callach  ;  Feidlimid,  son  of  Crimthain  (King  of  Munster) ;  Diarmaid  of  Desert 
Diarmada  (Castledermot,  County  Kildare) ;  Eochaid,  bishop  of  Tallagh  ; 
Oengus  Ua  Oiblein.1?  The  foregoing  list  has  been  versified  in  the  Irish  lan- 
guage, and  the  lines  are  attributed  to  the  celebrated  Cormac  Mac  Cuillenan 
of  Cashel,20  who  flourished  near  enough  to  that  time,  when  Maelruain  lived,  to 
have  procured  authentic  details. 

One  of  the  eight  Ecclesiastical  and  Religious  Rules  established  in  Erinn, 
and  the  sixth  in  chronological  order,  was  that  of  St.  Maelruain.  It  is  known  as 
the  general  Rule  of  the  Celidhe'  D£,  vulgarly  called  the  Culdees.  It  contains 
a  minute  series  of  regulations  for  their  lives,  their  prayers,  their  preachings, 
their  conversations,  their  confessions,  their  communions,  their  ablutions,  their 
fastings,  their  abstinences,  their  relaxations,  their  sleep,  their  celebrations  of 
Mass  and  their  other  duties.21  A  copy  of  this  is  contained  in  a  prose  tract 
of  nine  small  quarto  pages.22  The  "  Rule  for  the  Celi  De"  was  composed 
by  St.  Maelruan,  and  it  is  said,  about  the  year  780.  However,  we  are  inclined 
to  think,  that  the  date  must  be  placed,  at  an  earlier  period.  The  original  of 
this  is  not  known  to  exist,  and  the  version  of  it  which  remains  does  not 
appear  to  be  older  than  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century. 23  It  may  be 
regarded  as  a  modernized,  or  perhaps  amplified,  version  of  a  much  earlier 
document.  The  length  of  the  Tract  admits  great  variety  in  the  subjects  of 
which  it  treats,  while  its  contents  are  greatly  deficient  in  arrangement,  and 
in  many  passages  they  are  obscure.2*     It  is  said,  that  Moelruain  originally 


Reeves,  D.D.,    Evidences,  G,  pp.  82,  83.  20  The    Very    Rev.    Bartholomew    Mac 

18  At  least,  such  is  the  description  given  of  Cat  thy,  D.D.,  who  kindly  furnished  English 

them,  in  an  Irish  Poem  of  twelve  quatrains  translations  of  the  Irish  text  from  the  Book 

in  Leabhar  Breac,  fol.   261,   beginning  with  of  Leinster  for  the  writer,  states,  there  is  no 

the  heading  Do  Cell   "Oe,   no  x>i   clej\ech  reason  for  calling  the  authenticity  of  Cormac 

pecterw.  Mac  Cuillenan's  poem  in  question.     At  the 

*9  And  this  is  verified  by  the  poem  com-  bottom  of  that  page  in  which  it  is,  a  modern 

mencing    with   "  The   hillock,"    of  which  version    is    given    in    the   handwriting    of 

Cormac    Mac    Culenain    sang :    "  Hillock,  Michael    O'Cleiy,    the  chief    of  the    Four 

green-topped,"  etc.     See  Dr.  Robert  Atkin-  Masters,  in  whose  possession  the  Manuscript 

son's  edition  of  the  Book  of  Leinster,  p.  370^.  once  had  been. 

Moreover,  we   are  told,  that   Cormac  Mac  M  See  Professor  Eugene  O'Curry's  "  Lec- 

Culenain  sang  (in  the  poem  mentioned,  inter  tures     on    the    Manuscript     Materials     of 

alia)  : —  Ancient  Irish  History,"  Lect.  xviii.,  p.  375. 

"  Maelruain,  Mea'tuile,  glorious  in  deed,  ibid. 

Maelantiad  of  Dairinis,  23  This  is  inferred   from    its  orthography 

The  three  Elands,  Maeldithrub  zeal-  and  grammatical  structure. 

ous,  *•»   See     "The    Culdees    of   the    British 

Dimman,  Dalbach,  Feidlimid.  Islands,  as  they  appear  in  History,"  &c.    By 

Very  Rev.  William  Reeves,  D.D.,  part  ii., 

Diarmuid,  Eochaid,  sublime  the  tale,  sect,  ii.,  p.  7. 

And  Oengus  Ua  Oibleim,  as  A  prose  version  of  this  Rule  purports  to 

The  folk  of  that  unity  all  be  its  translation  in  the  Leabhar  Breac,   at 

(Are)  round  Maelruain,  round  Mael-  fol.  9.    It  begins  with  these  words  :  Incipic 

tuile."  TI1A541I,    na   Celco  tVOe,    o  ffloelpUAin 

— Ibid.,  p.  370^.  cearuc. 


July  7.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  io- 


composed  his  Rule  for  the  Cele  De  in  metre.25  This  has  been  rendered  into 
Irish  prose,  and  it  has  been  printed,  with  an  English  translation,  by  Dr.  John 
O'Donovan,26  to  which  notes  are  annexed,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Reeves.  The  Rule 
of  St.  Maelruain  was  remarkably  rigorous.  Meat  was  not  eaten,  nor  was  ale 
drank,  by  his  monks,  during  their  Abbot's  own  time  ;2?  although,  both  appear 
to  have  been  allowed — subject  to  certain  conditions — in  that  copy  of  the 
Rule,  which  has  come  down  to  us.  It  is  interesting  to  know,  what  formed 
the  chief  articles  of  food  in  the  monastic  establishment,  at  this  early  period. 
The  dietary  of  the  Tallagh  community  seems  to  have  consisted  of  bread, 
thick  milk,  honey,  skimmed  milk,  beer,  butter,  kale,  biestings,  curds,  fish, 
cheese,  eggs,  apples,  leeks,  cheese-whey,  and  gruel,  for  these  are  specially 
mentioned,  as  being  in  daily  use.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  relaxation  at 
Easter,  when  eggs,  lard  and  the  flesh  of  wild  deer  and  wild  hogs,  with  other 
flesh-meats,  in  case  of  sickness  or  scarcity  of  other  nutriment,  were  allowed. 
There  was  a  fast  every  month  among  the  congregation  of  Maelruan,  on  half 
a  meal  of  bread,  and  on  half  a  meal  of  diluted  whey.  This  Rule  has  precepts 
for  bishops,  pastors,  confessors,  virgins  in  religion,  and  lay  people.  It  con- 
tains several  regulations,  connected  with  the  sacrament  of  penance.  It  regards 
any  divulging  of  confession,  so  as  to  say,  "  this  is  what  the  man  did,"  as  a 
very  heinous  crime.  It  is  added,  that  this  "  is  not  penanced  in  the  land  of 
Erinn."28  On  the  eve  of  the  chief  festivals,  all  feasting  is  prohibited,  "  because 
of  going  under  the  hand  to-morrow."2^  Frequent  confession  is  also  incul- 
cated."^ Yet,  it  is  not  profitable,  when  the  transgressions  are  frequent. 
We  are  informed  again,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  delay  in  case  of  minute 
confessions  thoughts  and  idle  notions,  and  abuse  and  anger,  until  Sunday,  but 
to  confess  them  immediately  as  they  occur.  He  who  makes  his  confession 
to  a  soul-friend — if  he  perform  the  penance  according  to  his  directions — need 
not  confess  them  to  another  soul-friend,  but  only  what  has  subsequently 
occurred.  Some  instructions  are  given,  also,  for  guidance  of  the  confessor.31 
It  is  right  to  refuse  the  confession  of  a  person,  who  does  not  perform  penance 
according  to  the  soul-friend's  direction,  unless  there  happens  to  be  a  soul- 
friend  near,  who  is  considered  more  learned  in  rules,  in  the  ways  of  the 
scripture,  and  in  the  practices  of  the  saints.  Let  the  penitent  heed  what  he 
receives  from  the  learned  soul-friend,  whom  he  first  met,  to  whomsover  he 
may  reveal  his  confession  each  time,  and  let  penance  be  enjoined  him, 
according  to  the  rules  of  frequent  confession.  In  fine,  it  is  also  decreed,  that 
the  bishop,  who  confers  noble  orders  upon  any  one,  who  is  not  instructed  in 
religion  and  reading  and  rules,  as  also  regarding  the  proper  remedy  for  all  sins 

26  Both  are  to  be  found  in  "The  Culdees  would  be  too  long  to  wait  till  the  Sunday 
of  the  British  Islands,  as  they  appear  in  following,  for  the  person  who  habitually  goes 
History,"  &c.  By  Very  Rev.  William  to  hand  every  Sunday,  because  these  two 
Reeves,  D.D.     Evidences,  H,  pp.  84  to  97.  days  were  always  special  with  them  at  Mass." 

27  See  "  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  3I  After  this  form  :  Difficult,  indeed,  is 
Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i.,  the  duty  of  the  soul-friend,  because  if  he  give 
part  i.,  pp.  128,  129.  the  proper  remedy,  it  is  oftener  violated  than 

28  AccordingtotheO'Curry'sMSS.,  sect.  60.  observed;  but,  if  the  soul-friend  does   not 

29  To  these  words  Dr.  Reeves  adds  the  fol-  give  it,  its  liability  falls  upon  himself;  because 
lowing  note  :  "  The  priest  raises  his  hand  in  several  are  satisfied  with  making  the  con- 
the  absolution,  whence  the  modern  expres-  fession,  without  doing  the  penance,  but  it  is 
sion,  T>ul  f  a  iAim  f  a^ai^c  "  going  under  better  to  proclaim  their  welfare  to  them, 
the  hand  of  the  priest,"  denotes  going  to  though  they  do  not  respond  to  the  penance 
confession."  See  "The  Culdees  of  the  British  enjoined  by  the  confessor.  Another  soul- 
Islands,"  &c,  Evidences  H.,  p.  84.  friend  may  be  gone  to,  if  necessary,  after  the 

30  This  Rule  enacts  :  "When  they  do  not  permission  of  the  first  soul-friend  has  been 
go  to  hand  (meaning  to  confession)  on  Sun^  obtained. 

day,  they    go  on    the  Thursday  after ;   it  32  See  Reeves'  work  "On  the  Culdees." 


ic6  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  7. 


in  general,  is  an  enemy  to  God  and  to  man ;  for,  that  bishop  has  offered  an 
insult  to  Christ  and  to  his  Church,  and  hence  he  shall  do  penance  for  six 
years.  32 


CHAPTER     III. 

EULOGIES  AND  SAYINGS  OF  ST.  MAKLRUAIN— ONLY  ABBOT  AT  TALLAGH— HISTORIC 
NOTICES  OF  THE  PLACE— DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  THE  HOLY  ABBOT  THERE- 
LOCAL  ASSOCIATIONS — CONCLUSION. 

In  the  Prologue  to  the  "  Feilire"  of  St.  ^ngus,  St.  Maelruain  is  styled  "the 
great  Sun  of  the  South  Plain  of  Meath.'''1  In  the  Book  of  Leinster,2  there  is 
an  incident  of  his  history  related,  from  which  the  holy  Abbot  concludes,  that 
it  is  better  for  a  man  to  give  his  offering  to  the  Lord  than  to  earthly  men. 
Into  the  version  of  St.  Maelruain's  Rule,  which  has  been  published,  is  ad- 
mitted the  following  account,  that  what  Moelruain  heard  from  learned  men 
concerning  the  desertion  of  the  land  was  :  That  Patrick,  and  the  faithful 
whom  he  brought  into  Erin,  will  be  repulsive  in  Heaven  to  any  man  who 
deserts  his  land,  except  so  far  as  to  remove  from  the  east  of  it  to  the  west, 
and  from  the  north  to  the  south.  This  seems  to  have  reference  to  the  great 
religious  migrations  from  Ireland  to  the  Continent,  which  prevailed  in  the 
eighth  and  following  centuries.3 

That  St.  Maelruain  had  only  been  regarded  as  abbot,*  and  not  as  bishop, s 
in  Tallagh,  seems  most  probable,  from  the  fact,  that  his  apparently  immediate 
successor  there,  Airerain,6  surnamed  the  Wise,?  is  only  styled  an  Abbot  of  that 
place.  However,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  even  in  the  time  of  Maelruain 
there  was  a  bishop  at  Tallagh  ;  and  we  know,  that  at  a  period,  not  long  sub- 
sequent, there  had  been  a  St.  Eochaidh  8 — successor  of  Maelruain — who 
united  in  his  own  person  the  offices  of  bishop  and  abbot. 9  Nay  more  ;  it  is 
almost  certain,  that  St.  Maelruain  himself  would  not  assume  the  functions  of 
the  episcopate  through  humility,  while  he  enjoined  on  Eochaidh  the  duty  of 
receiving  consecration,  to  serve  the  purposes  of  the  community,  according  to 
the  custom  of  that  time. 


The  "cumhal  "  in  the  Latin  documents  is  it — he  is  entered  as  a  bishop.    This  addition 

expressed  by  "  ancilla. "     Its  literal  meaning  to  his  name  was  probably  a  late  interpolation, 

is    "bondmaid,"    whose     equivalent    was  6  See  an  account  of  him,  in    the  Second 

reckoned  at  three  cows.     See  Dr.  O'Dono-  Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  10th  of  February 

van's    LeAbharv  ha  5-CeArtf;,  or   "Book  of  — the  date  for  his  feast,  Art.  i. 

Rights,"  p.  139,  n.  (n).  7  Thus  we  find  in  that  copy  of  the  Tallagh 

Chapter  hi. — l  See  "Transactions  of  Martyrclogy,  in  the  "Book  of  Leinster," 

the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  edited  by  Robert  Atkinson,  M.A.,   LL.D., 

Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.      On  the  Calendar  of  the  following  entry   at   iii.  Idus    Februarii, 

^Engus,  by  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.,  p.  xx.  "  Airerain  Sapientis  et  Abbatis  Tamlactan 

2  Edited    by    Robert    Atkinson,    M.A.,  post  Maelruain."     Seep.  356. 

LL.D.,  fol.  286a.  8  Thus  entered,  at  the  28th  of  January  :  "  iii. 

3  See  "The  Culdees of  the  British  Islands,  Kl.  Februarii, Eochaid  Eps.  et  abb.  Tamlac." 
as  they  appear  in  History,"  &c.     By  Very  — See  ibid.,  p.  356^'. 

Rev.  William  Reeves,  D.D.     Evidences,  H,  9  His  feast   occurs  at  the  28th  January, 

p.  91,  and  note.  where  some  notices  of  him  occur,    in  Firsl 

4  In  the  list  of  the  community-folk  of  Tal-  Volume  of  this  work,  Art.  v.  There,  how- 
lagh,  he  is  not  called  a  bishop,  nor  in  the  ever,  we  did  not  assign  his  place — which 
Poem  of  Cormac  Mac  Cuillenan.  undoubtedly  was  here — whilejhis  deatli  is  re- 

5  However,  in  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly's  version  of  corded  in  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "  Annals  of  the 
the  "Martyrology  of  Tallagh" — which  we  find  Four  Masters,"  at  A.D.  807,  recle  8 1 2,  vol.  i.f 
to  have  been  drawn  from  the  earliest  copy  of  pp.  418,  419. 


July  7.]  LIVES  0*  1HE  IRISH  SAINTS.  107 


It  has  been  assumed,  that  Tallagh  had  been  a  rural  episcopal  See,10  even 
from  the  time  of  St.  Maelruan,  and  also  because  in  our  Annals  and  Calendars 
there  are  obituary  notices  of  its  bishops  j"  but,  the  fact  does  not  appear  to 
be  well  established.  The  oldest  records  extant  represent  it  as  a  rectory 
belonging  to  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  Henry  de 
Loundres I2  annexed  it  to  the  Deanery  of  St.  Patrick's,  to  maintain  the 
dignity  of  the  Dean,  who  as  head  of  the  Chapter  was  subject  to  the  greatest 
expense.1*  The  present  Protestant  church  x*  is  at  least  the  third  church, 
built  on  the  same  site.15  It  was  parallel  to  the  former  one,  while  the  latter 
stood  on  the  rude  remains  of  one  older  still.  In  mediaeval  records,  Tallagh 
is  written  Taulagh,  and  sometimes  Tavelach.  The  church  here  was  also 
called  Taulaght-Maelruny — a  corruption  from  the  patron's  name — while  the 
chapels  of  Killohan  l6  and  St.  Bride  x?  were  subservient  to  it.  Besides  the 
tithes,  the  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's  formerly  possessed  the  right  of  presentation 
to  the  vicarage.18  A  large  stone  font  is  in  the  graveyard  at  Tallagh  ;  and, 
it  is  said,  that  pilgrims  to  the  shrine  of  St.  Mollrooney — such  was  the  local 
pronunciation — were  accustomed  to  wash  their  feet  in  it.  Near  Tallagh,  and 
in  the  same  parish,  there  is  a  townland  still  denominated  Kilnamanagh  x9  or 
"  the  Church  of  the  Monks."  It  was  probably  a  dependency  on  the  Monas- 
tery founded  by  St.  Maelruain.  Not  far  from  the  site  of  St.  Maelruain's  old 
foundation  was  the  former  palace  of  the  Archbishops  of  Dublin.*0  This 
mediaeval  and  semi-baronial  structure,  from  the  pictures  of  it  which  remain, 
was  a  large  castellated  mansion,  having  several  massive  square  towers  and 
thick  external  walls,  pierced  with  many  narrow  loop-hole  windows.21  It  was 
even  inhabited  to  a  comparatively  recent  period.  However,  having  become 
ruinous,  and  inconvenient  for  the  usages  of  modern  social  life,  the  Arch- 
bishop's palace  was  unroofed  in  1825.  Afterwards,  this  site  became  the  pro- 
perty of  a  lay  gentleman,  who  repaired  and  converted  a  portion  of  its  ruins 
into  a  modern  mansion.  Subsequently,  he  transferred  the  title  and  possession 
to  the  fathers  of  the  Dominican  Order.  Soon  again  was  a  noble  building 
erected  for  their  religious  establishment.  At  present,  a  spacious  Dominican 
Convent  occupies  the  site  once  covered  by  the  archiepiscopal  palace.  Of 
the  latter — in  the  true  architectural  taste  and  spirit  of  restoration — the  former 
bell-tower  has  been  preserved,  and  it  still  serves  its  original  purpose.  In  the 
garden  attached,  there  is  an  immense  walnut  tree,  which  is  said  to  have  been 

10  Previous    to  a.d.    1 152.      See    John       of  St.  Joseph,  Bishop  of  Tallagh,  Art.  iv. 
D'Alton's  "  History  of  the   County  of  Dub-  l6  It  was  situated  without  the  cross-lands 
lin,"  p.  761.                                                             of  the  Archbishop  in  the  townland  of  Old- 

11  This  seems  to  have  been  in  accordance,  bawn,  but  it  has  been  waste  since  A.D. 
with    that  monastic  discipline   observed  at       1 532. 

Iona,  and  probably  in  other  places  through-  '7  This  chapel  nearer  the  Dodder  is  now  in 

out  Ireland,  where   bishops  were  attached  ruins. 

only  to  their  respective  religious  houses,  and  l8  These  privileges  were  confirmed  to  him 

for  the  purpose  of  ordaining  the   subjects  of  by  a  Bull  of  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  in  the  first 

those  houses.  year  of  his  pontificate,  A.D.  1227. 

12  He  flourished  in  the  thirteenth  century,  J9  It  is  described  on  the  "  Ordnance  Sur- 
and  presided  over  the  See  of  Dublin,  from  vey  Townland  Maps  for  the  County  of 
A.D.  l2l3to  1228.  See  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  i.,  Dublin,"  sheets  21,  22. 

"  Archbishops  of  Dublin,"  pp.  318  to  320.  2°  A  picture  of  this  medioeval  mansion  may 

13  See  "The  History  and  Antiquities  of  be  seen,  in  vol.  i.,  p.  201,  of  new  edition  of 
the  Collegiate  and  Cathedral  Church  of  St.  Rev.  Mervyn  Archdall's  "Monasticon  Hi- 
Patrick,  near  Dublin,"  by  William  Monck  bernicum,"  edited  by  Right  Rev.  Patrick  F. 
Mason,  Esq.,  book  i.,  chap,  v.,  p.  26.  Moran,  D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Ossory,  &c, 

14  It  was  erected  in  1829.  at  present   Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Sydney. 

15  An  engraving  of  the  Protestant  Church  Dublin,  1873,  et  se1->  4to« 

at  Tallagh  may  be  seen  in  the  First  Volume  2t  The  accompanying  illustration,  copied 

of  this  work,  at  the  5th  of  January,  the  feast      from  a  faithful  drawing  of  the  original  by 


to8 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  7. 


planted  by  the  hand  of  St.  Madman  himself.22  Not  far  from  it,  there  is  a 
promenade,  called  the  Friars'  Walk.  The  enclosed  grounds  are  admirably 
secluded  from  the  high  road,  while  they  present  a  true  picture  of  monastic 
retirement. 

The  course  of  St.  Maelruain  having  been  usefully  and  religiously  run,  the 
time  for  his  eternal  reward  began  to  open  before  him.  We  cannot  doubt, 
but  his  departure  was  a  sore  bereavement  to  his  community,  in  whose  spiritual 
welfare  he  had  always  taken  so  deep  an  interest.  In  view  of  his  approaching 
end,  it  seems  likely,  he  made  provision  for  their  future  wants,  and  on  his 


Ancient  Palace  of  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  at  Tallaght. 

death-bed  blessed  them  and  their  place.  It  has  been  stated,  in  the  "Annals 
of  the  Four  Masters,"23  that  St.  Maelruain,  Bishop  of  Tamhlacht  Maelruain, 
died,  on  the  7th  of  July,  a.d.  787.  Yet,  under  the  head  of  Tamlacht,  Duald 
Mac  Firbis  enters,  Maolruain,  bishop  of  Tamlacht,  at  a.d.  789,^  and  at  the 
7th  of  July.  According  to  the  Annals  of  Ulster,2*  Maelruain  of  Tamlacht,  a 
bishop  and  soldier  of  Christ,  slept  in  peace,  in  the  year  791.  However,  Dr. 
O'Donovan  states,  that  the  true  date  for  his  death  is  a.d.  792. 26  As  already 
stated,2?  St.  Maelruain  was  interred  in  his  cemetery  at  Tallagh,  and  the  site 
of  his  grave  is  yet  pointed  out  by  the  people  of  that  village.      For  the  spot, 


William  F.  Wakeman,  has  been  transferred 
by  him  also  to  the  wood,  engraved  by  Mrs. 
Millard. 

22  An  illustration  of  this  tree  forms  the 
Frontispiece,  attached  to  the  First  Volume  of 
this  work.  These  larger  illustrations  have 
been  designed  to  commemorate  scenes,  in 
connexion  with  the  compilation  of  Irish 
Hagiology  ;  and  accordingly,  as  affixed  to 
the  present  volume,  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
has  a  special  interest  for  having  a  close  and 
an  intimate  relation  with  the  learned  Arch- 
bishop Ussher,  Sir  James  Ware,  the  Rev. 
Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  who  have  laboured 


so  well  in  the  field  of  Irish  Hagiology  and 
Ecclesiastical  History. 

23  See  Dr.  O' Donovan's  edition,  vol.  i., 
pp.  392,  393- 

■*  See  "  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i., 
part  i.,  pp.  128,  129. 

25  See  -AniialA  Ul<voh.  Edited  with  a 
Translation  and  Notes,  by  William  M. 
Ilennessy,  M.R.I. A.,  vol.  i.,  pp.   270,  271. 

26  See  "  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters," 
vol.  i.,  pp.  392,  393. 

27  See  the  First  Volume  of  this  work,  at 
the  5th  of  January,  Art.  iv. 


July  7.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  109 


extraordinary  veneration  is  manifested  ;  nor  will  the  people  suffer  any  corpse 
to  be  interred  too  near  it.  His  festival  was  kept  on  the  7th  of  July,28  and  it 
was  long  commemorated  by  the  people  with  processions.  This  commemora- 
tion appears  to  have  come  down  from  remote  times.  The  Martyrology  of 
Tallagh2?  records,  that  at  the  7th  of  July,  veneration  was  given  to  Maol- 
ruain,  Bishop  of  Tamlachta.  This  name  appears  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Donegal,30  nlso,  at  the  same  date,  as  Maelruain,  Bishop  of  Tamlacht,  in 
Leinster.  Tamlacht,  says  the  Calendarist,  lies  between  Ath-cliath  and  Cill- 
dara ;  but  it  should  have  been  observed,  not  in  a  direct  line.  Even,  St. 
Maelruain  was  venerated  in  Scotland,  as  we  find  him  entered  at  the  7th  of 
July,  in  the  Kalendar  of  Drummond  ;31  from  which  we  further  learn,  that  his 
life  was  distinguished,  not  alone  by  his  virtues,  but  by  miracles.  After  his  death, 
as  we  learn  from  the  "  Feilire,"  which  was  soon  composed  by  his  contempo- 
rary St.  ^ngus,  the  people  began  to  frequent  his  tomb,32  and  after  pious 
service  there,  with  purity,  was  "  healed  every  heart's  sigh."33  A  pattern  was 
kept  up  at  Tallagh,  on  the  7th  of  July,  by  the  people  of  the  town,  and  they 
were  accustomed  to  call  it  St.  Mollrooney's  day.3*  They  had  an  incorrect 
idea  of  the  patron  saint,35  according  to  the  popular  tradition. 

Many  centuries  have  passed  since  holy  men  first  lived,  prayed,  and  studied  at 
Tallagh;  and  although  time  has  wrought  many  changes  for  its  records,  the  present 
age  witnesses  asuccession  of  religious  men,  and  a  learned  band  of  ecclesiastical 
scholars  there,  serving  to  maintain  its  former  glories.  The  Catholic  prelates 
of  Dublin  formerly  made  it  a  place  for  repose  and  retreat.  Their  fine  man- 
sion has  been  levelled,  and  hardly  a  vestige  of  it  now  remains.  However,  at 
the  present  time,  the  Dominican  fathers36  have  their  convent  and  their  novi- 
ciate, on  its  site  ;  and,  as  of  old,  it  is  still  a  house  for  monastic  seclusion  and 
discipline,  as  also  a  school  for  imparting  instruction  to  those  youthful  aspi- 
rants, who  desire  the  perfect  state,  and  who  have  resolved  to  perpetuate  in  the 
present  age  the  blessings  of  bye-gone  centuries.   The  very  graves  3?  there  are 

28  See  Ordnance  Survey  Volume  of  festival.  To  these  we  have  already  alluded, 
"  Extracts  "  for  the  County  of  Dublin,  p.  in  the  First  Volume  of  this  work,  at  January 
131,  now   preserved   in  the  Library  of  the       5th,  Art.  iv. 

Royal  Irish  Academy.  35  Probably  owing  to  their  mode  of  pro- 

29  Edited  by  Rey.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  nouncing  this  saint's  name,  the  people  sup- 
His  feast  is  also,  at  this  date,  in  the  Martyr-  posed  St.  Maelruan  was  a  female,  and  they 
ology  of  Christ  Church,  Dublin,  edited  by  show  an  object  called  her  griddle  and  her 
John  Clarke  Crosthwaite,  A.M.,  and  Rev.  cake,  in  the  churchyard.  This  information 
Dr.  James  Henthorn  Todd,  p.  134.  the  writer  has  received  from  W.  D.  Hand- 

30  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  cock,  Esq.,  in  a  letter,  headed  52  Dame- 
188,  189.  street,  Dublin,  26th  of  November,  1874. 

31  Thus  at  Nonae  Julise,  "Apud  Hiber-  !  36  In  connexion  with  their  order,  and  in  a 
niam  Natale  Sancti  Confessoris  Maelruain  work  of  this  nature,  it  may  not  be  well  to 
cujus  Vita  Virtutibus  et  Miraculis  plena  re-  omit  allusion  to  a  distinguished  and  truly 
fulsit." — Bishop  Forbes'  "  Kalendars  of  learned  member,  who  has  bequeathed  to 
Scottish  Saints,"  p.  17.  them  and  to  Ireland  a  record  of  undoubted 

3a  The  original  word  in  the  Leabhar  Breac  historical  value.      We  mean  the  "  Hibernia 

copy  is  ocAleAchc,  "  his  own  tomb,"  as  dis-  Dominicana,"  and  its  "Supplementum,"  by 

tinguished  from  the  CAmhleAchc  or  "  plague  Father  Thomas  De  Burgo,   O.P.,  who  was 

tomb  " — an  elegant  and  imaginative  poetic  also  Bishop  of  Ossory,   towards  the  middle 

antithesis  and   play  upon  the  word,  as  the  of  the  last  century.  Coloniae  Agrippinse,  a.d. 

ingenious  and  critically  learned  Irish  scholar,  1762,  et  seq.,  4to. 

Very  Rev.   Bartholomew   M'Carthy,  D.D.,  3?  Among  these  is  to  be  seen  that  of  the 

has  pointed  out  me.  eloquent  and  admired  preacher  of  the  Domi- 

33  See  "Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  nican  Order,  whose  career  is  so  minutely 
Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i.,  and  elaborately  compiled,  in  the  interesting 
part  i.  On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus.  By  "  Life  of  the  Very  Rev.  Thomas  N.  Burke, 
Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D.,  p.xx.  O.P.,   by  William  J.   Fitz- Patrick,  F.S.A., 

34  Certain    religious     celebrations    were       &c.     Two  volumes.     London,  1885,  8vo. 
practised,  on  the  yearly  recurrence  of  the  Article    ii. —  *  These  were  a  great  and 


i  io  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [J uly  7. 


not  forgotten,  and  withareverentcuriosity  they  are  often  visited.  That  fine  archi- 
tectural group  of  buildings,  which  now  adorns  Tallaght,  also  forms  an  admir- 
able exemplar  of  the  ecclesiastical  renaissance,  which  has  been  so  energetically 
achieved,  while  secular  enterprise  has  been  so  restricted  and  oppressed, 
under  the  peculiar  political  and  social  conditions  that  obstruct  the  happiness 
and  prosperity  of  Ireland. 


Article  II. — St.  Willibald,  First  Bishop  and  Patron  of  Aich- 
stadt,  Germany.  \_Eighth  Century.']  Although  we  have  a  very  genuine 
Life — and  even  written  by  a  contemporary  and  a  relative — of  this  saint,  yet, 
it  is  to  be  regretted,  that  no  definite  statement  in  it  conveys  an  idea  of  where 
Willibald  was  born,  or  concerning  his  descent  and  race.  This  is  all  the  more 
remarkable,  that  his  parents  are  never  named  in  it,  although  frequent  occasions 
occur  for  referring  to  them.  Considerable  doubt  attaches,  therefore,  to  the 
present  holy  bishop's  place  of  nativity.  While  some  writers  consider  him  to 
have  belonged  to  the  people  called  Suevi  ;x  others  make  him  a  Scot  or  a 
Hibernian,  and  others  an  Englishman.  The  most  ancient  writer  of  his  Acts,2 
a  nun,  as  also  a  relation  and  a  contemporary  of  his  own,  does  not  record  the 
country  of  his  birth  ;3  although  from  the  allusion  made  to  his  early  education 
and  family  we  might  be  inclined  to  consider  him  an  Englishman.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  that  the  nun  of  Heidenheim,  who  wrote  his  Acts,  belonged  to  the 
community  of  his  sister  St.  Walburge,  and  she  had  the  relation  of  his  travels 
and  much  of  his  life  from  the  mouth  of  St.  Willibald  himself,  to  whom 
personally  she  was  well  known.  The  Bollandist,*  Father  John  Baptist  Soller, 
who  has  edited  these  Acts,  too  readily  adopts  this  conclusion  ;5  for  which,  it 
seems  to  us,  there  is  no  positive  proof.  An  old  anonymous  writer,  whose  Acts  6 
of  this  saint  had  previously  appeared  in  Canisius'  collection,  sets  Willibald 
down,  however,  as  derived  from  the  nation  of  the  Angles. 7  Notwithstanding, 
that  well-known  mediaeval  German  writer,  John  of  Trittenham,  tells  us,  that 
Willibald,  first  bishop  of  Aichstadt,  was  a  Scot  by  birth,8  and  a  brother  to  St. 
Walpurgis,  or  Walburge,'  a  virgin  and  abbess  of  Heidenheim.  Other  old 
Lives  of  St.  Willibald  are  said  to  have  been  written  by  Reginald,  bishop  of 


warlike  nation  of  Germany;  their  territory  5  He  writes:  "  Siquis  Suevum,  Scotumaut 
extending  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Elbe,  ac-  Ilibernum  fingere  voluerit  Sanctum  nostrum, 
cording  to  Strabo's  "  Geographia,"  lib.  vii.  is  a  me  responsum  non  expect et ;  ncc  his 
A  very  interesting  account  of  their  manners,  diutius  immoranduin  video,  cum  pridem  ex- 
customs  and  power  is  given  by  Ciesar,  in  tra  oninen  controversial!)  posita  sint." — 
his  work,  De  Bello  Gallico,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  i.,  Commentarius  Prsevius,  sect,  i.,  par.  3. 
ii.,  iii.  6   The    Bollandi»ts    have    them   as    Vita 

2  These  are  given  by  the  Bollandist*,  in  Altera.  Auctore  Anonymo  per  antiquo.  Fx 
four  chapters,  with  notes,  and  in  forty-five  editione  Canisii.  This  is  in  three  chapters, 
paragraphs,  including  three  of  Praefacio  containing  nineteen  paragraphs,  with  notes. 
Sanctimonialis.  It  is  followed  in  their  work  with  Miracula, 

3  Her  biography — one  of  great  interest  and  in  eighteen  paragraphs,  and  written  by 
value — is  intituled  :  Vna  seu  Hodceporicon,  Bishop  Philip. 

auctore  virgine  consanguinea   Sanctimoninli  7  He  writes  thus,    "  de  genere  Anglorum 

Heidenheimensi,  ex  editione  Canisii  correcta  ....     oriundus,"  cap.  i.,  sect.  I. 

ex  variis  lect.  Gretseri.  *  He  was  the  thirty-ninth  in  succession, 

*  See  the  Acts  of  this  holy  bishop,  very  and  he  ruled  from  A.n.  1306  to  132  2. 
fully  given  in  the  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  9  See  an  account  of  her,    in   Rev.   Albaii 

ii.,  Julii  vii.  De  S.  Willibaldo  Episcopo  Eys-  Butler's    "Lives  of   the  Fathers,    Martyrs, 

tadii  in  Germania,    pp.  485  to  519.     These  and    other     principal     Saints,"     vol.    vii., 

are  prefixed  by  a  Previous  Commentary,  in  July  vii. 

eight    sections    and    sixty-five    paragraphs,  J0  According  to  Canisius,  he  was  the  eleventh 

written  by  Father  John  Baptist  Soller.  bishop  in  succession.   He  lived  A.D.  1322. 


July  7.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


m 


Aichstadt,10  by  one  Adalbert,"  and  by  the  bishop  Philip,12  of  Aichstadt.1' 
The  latter,  although  a  laboured  and  an  extended  treatise,  abounds  in  historic 
errors.  The  Acts  of  this  saint  have  received  illustration  from  Surius,1*  Father 
John  Mabillon/s  Dean  Cressy,16  Bishop  Challenor,1?  Rev.  Alban  Butler,'8 
and  Les  Petits  Bollandistes.1'  Were  we  to  adopt  the  accounts  of  English 
writers,  this  holy  man  was  born  in  the  kingdom  of  the  West  Saxons,  near  the 
place  where  Southampton  now  stands,  and  it  is  said  his  father  was  the  holy 
king,  St.  Richard.20  However,  it  is  not  at  all  certain,  that  his  father  2I  had 
been  King  of  Wessex — as  some  writers  have  stated — but  on  the  contrary,22 
he  belonged  apparently  to  a  grade  less  elevated  in  society.  Moreover,  it  does 
not  appear  certain,  that  even  the  name  of  his  father  is  known. 23  According  to 
one  account  his  mother  was  Bonna — said  to  have  been  a  sister  to  St.  Boniface; 
it  is  needless  to  observe,  however,-  that  such  a  statement  rests  on  no  good 
authority.24  His  birth  has  been  referred  to  about  a.d.  704, 2s  by  various 
writers  j  however,  Father  John  Baptist  Soller — who  analyzes  the  chronology  of 
this  saint's  Acts — states,  that  it  ought  to  be  placed  about  a.d.  700. 26  He  had 
another  holy  and  an  older  brother,  named  Winibald,2?  and  a  sister,  St.  Wal- 
burga.28  Their  relative  places  as  to  seniority  have  been  stated,  by  the  most 
ancient  writers  of  their  Acts.20  These  are  stated  to  have  been  cousins  of  St. 
Boniface,30  the  illustrious  Apostle  of  Germany  ;  but,  there  are  good  reasons  for 
doubting  such  statement.  So  various  have  been  the  entries  of  this  holy  man's 
name  in  old  records,  that  it  has  been  questioned  if  they  refer  to  one  and  the 
same  person.  Thus,  he  is  styled,  Wilibaldus,  Wilbaldus,  Bilibaldus,  Bilbaldus, 
Williboldus,  and  Willeboldus  p1  while  its  probable  derivation  has  engaged 


11  He  only  gives  a  brief  notice,  regarding 
Saints  Willibald,  Wunebald  and  Walburgis, 
in  reference  to  the  monastery  of  Heidenheim. 
Nor  is  this  always  in  accord  with  what  had 
been  stated  by  the  nun  of  that  place. 

12  The  strictures  of  those  two  latter  writers 
are  to  be  found  in  Gretser's  work,  De 
Ecclesia  Eystettensis  Divis  Tutelaribus, 
printed  at  Ingoldstadt,  A.D.  1617. 

13  See  John  of  Tottenham's  "  Catalogus 
Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum,"  fol.  Hi.,  &c. 

14  See  "De  Probatis  Sanctorum  Vitis," 
tomus  iv. ,  Julii  vii. 

15  In  "Annates  Ordinis  S.  Benedicti," 
tomus  ii.,  lib.  xx.,  xxi.,  xxii.,  xxiii.,  xxiv.,  xxv. 

16  See  "  The  Church  History  of  Brittany," 
book  xxiv.,  chap,  xvii.,  pp.  642  to  644. 

17  See  "Britannia  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  pp. 
18  to  21. 

18  See  "  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs  and 
other  principal  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  vii. 

19  See  "Vies  des  Saints,"  tome  viii., 
viie  Jour  de  Juillet,  pp.  102,  103,  and 
n.  I. 

20  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of  the 
Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints," 
vol.  vii.,  July  vii. 

21  Indeed,  it  is  only  the  writer  of  the 
Second  Life  of  St.  Willibald,  and  rather 
modern  writers,  that  call  his  father  Richard. 
See  Mabillon's  "Annates  Ordinis  S.  Bene- 
dicti,"  tomus  ii.,  lib.  xx.,  sect,  xliii., 
p.  61. 

22  The  first,  who  appears  to  consider  his 
father  was  a  king,  seems  to  have  been  Adel- 


bert,  Abbot  of  Heidenheim,  who  flourished 
in  the  time  of  Pope  Eugenius  III.,  who 
reigned  from  A.D.  1 145  to  a.d.  1153,  more 
than  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the 
death  of  St.  Willibald. 

23  In  that  most  genuine  Life  of  St.  Willi- 
bald by  his  relative  the  nun,  his  father  is  not 
noted  at  all  for  his  rank,  while  he  is  only 
praised  for  his  virtues.  The  feast  of  St. 
Richard  has  been  referred  to  the  7th  of  Feb- 
ruary. 

24  See  Dean  Cressy's  "  Church  History  of 
Brittany,"  book  xxiv.,  chap,  xvii.,  p.  642. 

25  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of  the 
Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints," 
vol.  vii.,  July  vii. 

25  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii 
vii.  De  S.  Willibaldo  Episcopo  Eystadii  in 
Germania  Commentarius  Praevius,  sect,  iv., 
num.  29,  pp.  491,  492. 

27  His  feast  is  celebrated,  on  the  18th  of 
December. 

38  Her  festival  is  set  down,  at  the  25th  of 
February. 

29  This  has  been  shown,  by  Father  John 
Baptist  Soller,  S.J.,  in  his  Preliminary  ob- 
servations to  the  Acts  of  St.  Willibald.  See 
sect,  iii.,  num.  28,  p.  491. 

30  See  his  Life  already  given,  in  the  Sixth 
Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  5th  of  June — 
the  date  for  his  chief  festival,  Art.  i. 

31  On  these  various  denominations,  Gret- 
ser  has  some  critical  observations,  in  which 
he  refutes  the  opinion  of  Aventinus  and 
others,  regarding  this  matter,  cap.  ii. 


ii2  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  7. 


the  attention  of  etymologists. 3a  Perhaps,  after  all,  none  of  the  foregoing  had 
been  the  original  name  of  the  saint  j  and  this  is  more  likely  to  have  been  the 
case,  it  we  can  consider  him  of  Scottish  origin.  We  know,  likewise,  that  Irish 
names  have  generally  been  changed  into  others,  by  people  among  whom  our  emi- 
grants to  the  Continent  resided.  When  only  three  years  old,  Willibald  had  been 
attacked  with  a  grievous  illness,  whereby  his  limbs  became  contracted, 33  and 
it  was  feared  by  his  parents  that  he  was  about  to  die.  It  so  happened,  accord- 
ing to  a  usage  common  in  those  days,  that  a  large  cross  had  been  erected  in 
a  public  place  near  their  house.  Thither  the  faithful  were  accustomed  to 
repair,  and  to  prefer  their  several  requests  to  Heaven.  The  parents  of  Willi- 
bald accordingly  went  to  the  place,  when  human  remedies  seemed  to  fail, 
and  there  they  offered  their  prayers  with  great  fervour.  They  vowed,  that 
should  their  son  be  restored  to  them,  that  they  would  dedicate  him  to  God 
in  the  religious  state,  and  that  when  at  age  they  would  allow  him  to  take  the 
clerical  tonsure.  The  result  was,  that  he  was  immediately  restored  to  health. 34 
As  the  boy  grewin  years,  he  manifested  the  gifts  of  grace  and  of  wisdom,  so  that 
when  five  years  old,35  his  parents,  to  secure  their  pious  desires,  resolved  to 
place  their  son  under  the  guidance  of  the  Abbot  Egbald,  who  then  ruled  over 
the  monastery  of  Waltheim.36  For  this  purpose,  he  was  entrusted  to  the  care 
of  a  venerable  and  faithful  man,  called  Theodredus,37  and  who  is  also  named 
Thealoretus.38  However,  as  the  boy  was  so  young,  a  chapter  meeting  of  the 
monks  was  called  by  the  Abbot,  when  all  agreed,  that  he  might  safely  admit 
the  child  to  be  an  inmate  of  their  house.  Nor  was  their  confidence  in  him 
misplaced,  for  soon  Willibald  began  to  manifest  that  spirit  of  earnestness 
and  of  industry,  which  soon  made  him  a  proficient  in  the  study  of  sacred  letters 
in  every  department  of  literature,  while  he  began  also  to  learn  the  psalms  of 
David.  The  holy  youth  progressed  each  day  in  piety  and  wisdom,  so  that 
he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  exact  in  the  performance  of  all  monastic 
exercises.  By  all  of  the  monks  he  was  held  in  the  greatest  esteem.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen,  his  father  had  conceived  a  great  desire  to  make  a  pilgrim- 
age to  the  Holy  Land,  while  his  two  sons,  Saints  Winibald  and  Willibald,  re- 
solved on  accompanying  him.  Accordingly,  about  the  year  720,39  721,  or 
722,4°  all  three  set  out  from  Hamble-Haven^1  and  they  landed  on  the  coast 
of  Normandy,  at  the  banks  of  a  river  called  Sigona,42  and  near  a  city  called 
Rotum,43  otherwise  Rothomagus.44     After  resting  there  for  a  time,  they  pro- 

32  Father  John  Baptist  Soller  states,  that  38  This  is  the  name  given  to  him,  in  the 
while  he  does  not  accept  Gretser's  German  shorter  Life  of  our  saint,  which  was  written 
derivation  of  it,  from  wald,  "a  wood  ;"  he       by  Reginald. 

thinks  that  of  Philip  Bishop  of  Aichstadt  39  According   to  the  Bollandist  computa- 

better,  viz. ,  the  German  word  will,  having  a  tion. 

like    signification    in     English,    and    bald,  4°  According  to  some  writers,  Winibald — 

"prompt,"  rendered  in  Latin  "  prompte  vo-  the  elder  brother — was  then  only  nineteen 

lens,"  or  "prompta  voluntas."     All  this  is  years  of  age,  and  Willibald  only  seventeen. 

very  fanciful,  however,  and  if  it  proves  any-  See  Bishop  Challenor's  "Britannia  Sancta," 

thing  it  should  be,  that   we  have  not  yet  part  ii.,  p.  19. 

found  out  his  original  name.  41  The  River  Hamble  has  its  source,  about 

33  See  Dean  Cressy's  "  Church  History  ol  one  half  mile  from  the  town  of  Bishop's 
Brittany,"  book  xxiv.,  chap,  xvii.,  p.  643.  Waltham,  and  it  passes  through  the  piece 

34  See  Bishop  Challenor's  "  Britannia  of  water  called  Waltham  Pond,  thence  flow- 
Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  19.  ing  into  the  Southampton  Water,  north  of 

35  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "Lives  of  the  the  Isle  of  Wight.  See  S.  Lewis'  "Topogra- 
Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints,"  phical  Dictionary  of  England,"  vol.  iv., 
vol.  vii.,  Julyvii.  p.  450. 

30  In  Hampshire.  *'  Also  known  as  Sequana,  or  the  Seine. 

37  Thus   is    he  called   by  the  nun,  who  43  Also  called  Rotuma  and  Rotumum.  See 

wrote    St.   Willibald's   Life,     nr,   published  De  Chesne's  "  Historic  Francorum,"  tomus 

by  theBollandists.  Mabillotl  calls  him  Theo-  ii.  Chronicon  de  Gentis  Normannorum,  pp. 

dore.  24  and  525. 


July  7/ 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


"3 


ceeded  on  their  journey  through  the  vast  territory  of  Gaul,  for  they  had 
resolved  to  visit  Rome  on  their  way  and  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles.  After- 
wards, they  entered  Italy,  and  travelled  onwards  through  its  provinces  to  the 
city  of  Lucca. 45  Their  father  fell  sick  in  that  city,  and  breathed  his  last ;  when 
he  was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Frigidian  or  Frigdian.  He  is  said  to  have 
died  there,  a.d.  721,4s  or  about  the  year  722.47  His  two  sons  afterwards 
crossed  the  Apennines  on  their  way  to  Rome,  where  they  visited  the  shrines 
of  the  Apostles,  and  remained  there  from  the  Natalis  of  St.  Martin  to  the 
solemnity  of  Easter,  engaged  in  various  devout  pilgrimages  to  the  holy  sanc- 
tuaries of  the  martyrs  and  saints.  Here,  too,  they  assumed  the  monastic 
habit/8  During  the  summer,  they  were  attacked  with  an  intermittent  fever, 
which  greatly  prostrated  them,  but  from  which  they  recovered.  Having 
satisfied  their  devotion  in  the  Eternal  City,  they  next  resolved  on  a  pilgrim- 
age to  the  Holy  Land.49  Their  adventures  on  the  way,  and  the  various  places 
visited  by  them,  are  among  the  most  interesting  and  authentic  tours  of  the 
middle  ages  ;  while  their  record  throws  most  curious  and  considerable  light 
on  the  state  of  religious  and  of  pagan  society  there,  and  on  the  topography 
of  Palestine.50  At  Gaza,  Willibald  lost  his  sight,  and  he  continued  blind  for 
about  two  months ;  but,  upon  his  returning  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  enter- 
ing into  the  church  of  the  Holy  Cross,  his  sight  was  restored  to  him.s1  Seven 
whole  years  52  were  spent  by  them  in  Palestine  ;  when  they  resolved  on 
returning  to  Europe.  The  brothers  returned  by  way  of  Constantinople,  a.d. 
727,53  and  afterwards  they  visited  Sicily,54  a  d.  729.  They  went  also  to  Syra- 
cuse 55  and  to  Catana,s°  and  thence  to  Calabria.s?  Then,  St.  Willibald  visited 
Capua/8  afterwards  Tyana,59  and  finally  the  celebrated  Monastery  of  St. 
Benedict  on  Monte  Cassino.60     There,   Petronax01  was  Abbot,  and  only  a 


44  Now  the  city  of  Rouen,  capital  of  the 
Department  of  Seine-Inferieure,  and  situated 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  River  Seine.  For 
description,  see  "Gazetteer  of  the  World," 
vol.  xi.,  pp.  334,  335. 

4s  Formerly  the  capital  of  an  independent 
Republic,  and  afterwards  of  a  Duchy  ;  but 
now  included  in  Tuscany.  It  is  surrounded 
with  a  fortified  wall,  having  a  circuit  of  three 
miles.  Its  ramparts  are  planted  with  tree*, 
which  have  a  pleasing  effect  from  a  dis- 
tance. 

46  Such  is  the  Bollandist  calculation.  In 
the  "  Lives  of  the  English  Saints,"  there  is 
a  Life  of  St.  Richard,  by  J.  H.  N.  (Cardinal 
Newman),  and  his  death  is  placed  in  the 
autumn  of  722.     See  vol.  Hi.,  p.  11. 

47  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of  the 
Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints," 
vol.  ii.,  February  vii. — to  which  day  his  feast 
has  been  assigned. 

48  See  Father  John  Mabillon's  "  Annales 
Ordinis  S.  Benedicti,"  tomus  ii.,  lib.  xx., 
sect,  xliii.,  p.  61. 

49  The  Bollandist  Father  Soller  states,  that 
they  left  Rome  for  Palestine,  a.d.  722. 

50  It  is  rendered  still  more  interesting. 
from  the  notes  of  Mabillon  and  those  of 
Basnage,  in  his  edition  of  Canisius'  "  Lec- 
tiones  Antiquae." 

51  See  Bishop  Challenor's  "  Britannia 
Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  20. 

52  The  chronotaxis  of  these  years  is  given 
by  Father  John  Baptist  Soller,  S.J. 


53  They  were  there  about  the  Easter  Fes- 
tival. 

54  This  large  and  fertile  Island  was  called 
Trinacria  by  the  ancients — owing  to  its  trian- 
gular form — and  it  is  only  separated  from 
Italy,  by  a  narrow  strait. 

55  This  city  was  founded  by  one  Archiar,  a 
Corinthian,  500  yearsbefore  the  birth  of  Christ. 
It  afterwards  became  the  head  of  the  Grecian 
colonies  in  Italy  and  Sicily.  At  a  period 
long  subsequent,  it  fell  under  the  power  of 
the  Romans,  and  it  was  regarded  as  the 
capital  of  the  Sicilian  province. 

56  A  city  at  the  foot  of  Mount  JEtna.,  and 
which  was  almost  ruined  by  an  earthquake 
in  the  year  1693. 

57  Also  called  Magna  Gracia,  the  most 
southern  part  of  the  former  kingdom  of 
Naples. 

58  A  town  of  Naples,  in  the  Terra  di  La- 
voro,  and  seated  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
River  Volturno. 

59  Now  Teano,  in  the  same  district. 

60  Originally  on  the  summit  of  this  steep 
mountain — one  of  the  spurs  of  the  Apennines 
— and  within  the  former  kingdom  of  Naples, 
St.  Benedict  had  founded  his  establishment 
on  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  temple  of  Apollo, 
in  the  year  529.  This  monastery  has  had  a 
varied  and  an  interesting  history,  from  that 
date  to  our  own  times. 

61  This  holy  man  ruled  there  as  Abbot  for 
thirty-two  years,  and  he  departed  this  life,  on 
the  30th  of  April,  a.d.  750. 


114 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  7. 


few  monks  were  under  his  charge,  in  the  year  72Q.62  Our  saint  is  claimed, 
as  belonging  to  the  Benedictine  order,  which  rule  Willibald  is  said  to  have 
embraced,  on  the  summit  of  that  high  mountain,  after  he  had  been  absent  ten 
years  from  his  native  country,  and  seven  years  since  he  had  left  Rome.63 
There  his  conversation  and  example  gave  instruction  and  edification  to  that 
community.  The  first  year  of  his  arrival  there,  he  was  appointed  sacristan  of 
the  church,  and  the  second  he  became  dean  in  the  monastery.  Afterwards, 
for  four  years  he  was  porter  or  guest-master  to  the  great  monastery  on  Monte 
Casino;6*  and  for  another  four  years,  he  was  porter  to  another  monastery  in  a 


Benedictine  Monastery  of  Monte  Cassino. 

valley  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  which  stood  near  the  River  Raphito. 
This  latter  office  required  a  rooted  habit  of  virtue,  which  should  suffer  no 
abatement,  owing  to  external  occupations  and  frequent  commerce  with  secu- 
lars ;  it  was  also  one  of  great  trust  and  importance.65  Among  other  visitors 
to  Monte  Casino,  a  priest — doubtless  a  Benedictine  monk66 — came  thither 
from  Spain,  and  he  asked  permission  from  the  Abbot  Petronax  to  visit  Rome, 
while  he  urged  St.  Willibald  to  accompany  him.  This  permission  having 
been  obtained,  they  first  sought  there  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Willi- 
bald had  a  special  interview  with  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  Then  he  related,  at 
the  Pope's  request,  his  various  adventures  in  the  Holy  Land,  while  his  con- 
versation charmed  the  universal  Father  of  the  Faithful,  who  listened  with  the 
greatest  possible  interest  and  edification  to  the  narrative.     The  illustrious  St. 


62  That  assigned  for  St.  Willibald's  arrival 
at  Monte  Cassino,  by  the  Bollandist  Father 
Soller. 

63  See  Mabillon's  "Annates  Ordinis  S. 
Benedicti,"  tomusii.,  lib.  xx.,  sect,  xliv., 
p.  62 

64  The  writer  had  a  personal  experience  of 
the  courteous  and  hospitable  manner,  in 
which — after  a  lapse  of  over  iooo  years  from 
St.  Willibald's  time — his  successor  there  dis- 
charged similar  offices,  on  the  25th  and  26th 
of  October,  1886.     The  accompanying  illus- 


tration, copied  from  the  large  copperplate 
engraving  in  Mabillon's  Acts  of  the  Bene- 
dictine Order,  tomus  ii.,  was  drawn  by 
William  F.  Wakeman  on  the  wood,  en- 
graved by  Mrs.  Millard. 

6s  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "Lives  of  the 
Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints," 
vol.  vii.,  July  vii. 

66  See  'Mabillon's  "  Annales  Ordinis  S. 
Benedicti,"  tomus  ii.,  lib.  xx.,  sect,  lxxviii., 
p.  79- 

67  He  ruled  from  a.d.  731  to  a.d.  741.  See 


July  7.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  115 

Boniface,  bishop  of  Mayence,  happened  to  visit  Pope  Gregory  III.,67  at  Rome, 
a.d.  738.  He  asked,  as  a  special  favour,  that  Willibald  might  be  sent  to 
assist  him  in  the  missionary  labours  of  Germany,  and  he  had  a  knowledge  of 
his  arrival  at  Rome.68  This  visit,  according  to  the  chronology  of  the 
Bollandists,  took  place  towards  the  close  of  a.d.  74o.69  To  this  request,  the 
Pope  readily  assented,  and  sent  for  Willibald,  who  said  with  his  Abbot's  per- 
mission he  would  willingly  obey.  However,  the  Pope  told  him,  that  Petronax 
might  be  assumed  to  give  his  consent,  as  he  had  not  even  the  power  to  oppose 
such  an  order.  Wherefore,  Willibald  replied,  that  he  was  ready  to  obey, 
and  to  go  not  alone  to  Germany,  but  to  any  other  part  of  the  world  where  he 
might  be  sent.  Having  taken  leave  of  Gregory  III.,  Willibald  proceeded  to 
Lucca,  where  his  father  had  been  interred ;  thence  he  went  to  Ticina  and 
Brixia,  and  afterwards  he  journeyed  to  a  place  called  Charinta,  otherwise 
Charta.  Then  he  visited  the  Duke  Odilon,  with  whom  he  remained  for  a 
week.  Thence  he  went  to  Suitgarius,  and  remained  another  week.  He  and 
Suitgarius  went  together  to  St.  Boniface,  who  was  then  at  Linthrat,  or  Linth- 
ruth.7°  St.  Boniface  sent  them  to  Eichstadt,  that  they  might  see,  if  it  should 
be  a  suitable  place  for  a  religious  foundation.  At  that  time,  the  whole 
country  around  it  was  a  waste,  nor  save  a  church  of  St.  Mary,  was  a  single 
house  to  be  found  in  it.  Then,  Suitgarius  gave  that  tract  of  country  for  his  soul's 
salvation,  and  St.  Boniface  selected  St.  Willibald  to  become  its  future  bishop. 
The  town  of  Eichstadt,  Eichstatt  or  Aichstadt  is  the  capital  of  a  principality, 
to  which  it  gave  name,  in  Bavaria.  It  is  situated  in  a  fine  valley  on  the 
Altmuhl  River,  and  in  the  circle  of  Upper  Pfalz.7f  For  some  little  time,  St. 
Willibald  and  Suitgarius  remained  at  that  place,  to  find  a  suitable  site  for  the 
erection  of  a  religious  house,  and  afterwards  they  went  to  St.  Boniface,  who 
was  at  Frisinga.  They  remained,  until  all  three  returned  to  Eystet.  Then 
and  there,  St.  Willibald  was  ordained  a  priest,  to  which  order  he  had  not 
hitherto  been  elevated.  This  ordination  was  on  the  eleventh  of  the  August 
Kalends,  and  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  and  of  St.  Apollinaris,72 
a.d.  740.  After  another  year  had  elapsed,  St.  Boniface  directed,  that  Willi- 
bald should  come  to  him  in  Thuringia.  This  order  he  obeyed,  in  the  autumn 
season,  and  he  was  hospitably  entertained  in  the  house  of  his  brother  Wune- 
bald.73  For  eight  years  and  more,  they  had  not  seen  each  other,  and  now 
they  felt  greatly  rejoiced  to  be  in  company.  While  there,  and  in  a  place 
called  Sallpurg,74  during  the  autumnal  season, 75  Archbishop  Boniface,  with 
the  bishops  Burchard  ?6  and  Wizo,77  consecrated  Willibald  as  bishop,  and 
after  a  week's  stay  he  returned  to  his  own  place.  This  happened  in  the  forty- 
first  year  of  his  age.78  Soon  afterwards,  he  began  the  erection  of  a  monastery  at 


Sir   Harris  Nicolas'  "Chronology  of  His-  73  While  Willibald  had  been  a  monk  at 

tory,"  p.  209.  Monte  Casino,  Wunebald  having  proceeded 

6i  He  remained  there  from  the  Feast  of  St.  to  Rome,  became  a  monk  in  Rome,  whence 

Andrew,  a.d.  739,  to  the  Easter  of  the  fol-  he  went  to  join  St.  Boniface's    mission  in 

lowing  year.     See  Father  John  Mabillon's  Germany.     See  ibid. 

**  Annales  Ordinis  S.  Benedicti,"  tomus  ii.,  74  This  place  is  not  to  be  confounded  with 

lib.  xxi.,  sect,  xlviii.,  p.  108.  the  city  of  Salzburgh. 

69  See  their  Commentarius  Pnevius  to  his  75  The  nun  of  Heidenheim's  Life  adds  : 
Acts,  sect,  iii.,  num.  20,  p.  489.  "circa  illam  fere  horam  tribus  hebdomadibus' 

70  See  Dean  Cressy's  "  Church  History  of  ante  Natale  Sancti  Martini,"  &c. 
Brittany,"  book  xxiv.,  chap.  xvii.,p.  643.  7<5  First  bishop  of  Wurtzburg.     His  feast 

71  See  "  Gazetteer  of  the  World,"  vol.  v.,  occurs  on  the  14th  of  October. 

P-  178.  77  it  is  thought,  his  name  should  rather  be 

72  See  Mabillon's  "Annales  Ordinis  Sancti  written  Wicho,  who   was  bishop  of  Augs- 
Benedicti,"  tomus  ii.,  lib.  xxi.,  sect,  xlviii.,  burg. 

P-  io8-  ?H  Gretser,  in  Libro  Observationum  Sua- 


n6  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  7. 


Eichstadt,7^  where  he  introduced  the  religious  rule  and  discipline  of  St.  Bene- 
dict. He  spread  it,  likewise,  in  many  other  places.  He  never  ceased  to 
scatter  the  seed  of  the  Gospel  over  that  large  field  of  labour  entrusted  to  his 
charge,  and  he  failed  not  to  collect  an  abundant  harvest  of  souls.8°  Great 
numbers  crowded  to  place  themselves  under  his  guidance,  and  these  he 
regarded  as  his  adopted  children.81  Pastors  and  churches  he  provided  for 
various  places  in  Bavaria.  From  infancy,  many  were  carefully  trained  and 
elegantly  taught  in  his  schools,  so  that  at  the  age  of  puberty,  his  instructions 
brought  forth  their  ripened  fruits.  He  joined  St.  Boniface,  likewise,  in  that  re- 
monstrance, which  he  countersigned,82  and  which  was  sent  in  the  shape  of  an 
epistle  to  Ethelbald,  King  of  the  Mercians.  He  was  a  holy  and  a  learned  man ; 
while  gifted  with  intellect  and  eloquence,  he  knew  how  to  perpetuate  science 
and  religion  among  the  people  and  their  instructors.  His  charity  was  most 
tender  and  compassionate,  while  he  had  singular  talent  for  comforting  the 
afflicted.83  Notwithstanding  his  long  incumbency  as  bishop,  few  of  his  Acts 
have  been  preserved.  In  the  year  765,  his  subscription  is  found  to  a  docu- 
ment; in  769,  he  was  present  at  the  ordination  of  Bernwelph  of  Wurtzburg  ; 
in  the  year  777,  he  had  the  remains  of  his  brother  St.  Wunebald8*  removed 
to  a  more  honourable  tomb  ;  while  some  years  afterwards,  he  assisted  at  the 
obsequies  of  his  sister  St.  Walburge.85  At  the  request  of  Lullus,  Archbishop 
of  Mayence,  it  has  been  stated,  St.  Willibald  wrote  for  the  edification  of  the 
faithful.  This  was  chiefly  to  place  upon  record — as  has  been  supposed — 
those  great  acts  and  events,  which  had  just  closed  the  career  of  the  illustrious 
Apostle  of  Germany.86  That  he  left  behind  a  Life  of  St.  Boniface,87  Bishop, 
in  one  book,  has  been  often  stated.  As  we  have  already  mentioned,  this  was 
not  his  composition,  but  that  of  another  Willibald,  a  priest,  who  probably 
took  his  name  from  the  present  holy  bishop.88  Supposing  this  biography  to  have 
been  written  by  the  present  saint,  John  of  Trittenhem  knew  of  no  other  writing 
attributed  to  him  and  remaining.8?  In  the  year  785,  this  holy  bishop  signed 
a  deed,9°  whereby  he  gave  to  the  monastery  of  Fulda  certain  lands  and 
possessions.  St.  Willibald  flourished  under  Pippin,^  father  to  Charlemagne ; 
and,  during  forty-five  years  he  ruled  over  his  diocese,  until  he  had  attained 
his  eighty-seventh  year.  His  fasts  were  very  austere,  nor  did  he  allow  the 
slightest  relaxation  of  his  austerities,  until  his  strength  was  quite  exhausted. 
He  is  known  to  have  been  living  in  the  month  of  October,  785  ;  and,  it  is 
generally  believed,  that  he  departed  this  life  in  the  eighty-eighth  year  of  his 


rum  places  this  consecration,  at   A.D.   745.  8s  Such  is  the  chronology  of  his  Acts  as 

See  cap.  xii.,  pp.  110,  11 1.     However,  it  is  given  by  Father  John  Baptist  Soller,  S.J. 
more  generally  assigned  to  A.  D.  741.  0   Mabillon's    "  Annales  Ordinis  S. 

79  In  a  record  so  early  as  the  time  of  Char-  Benedicti,"  tomus  ii.,  lib.  xxiii.,  sect,  x., 
lemagne,  this  place  is  denominated    "  cas-  p.  172. 

trum  Rubilocus,  quod  Eichsteti  dicitur." —  8?  His  martyrdom  took  place,   on  the  5th 

Goldast's    "  Alamanicaium   Rerum    Scrip-  of  June,  755. 

tores,"  tomus  iii.,  p.  123.  &  See  the  Life  of  St.  Boniface,  Apostle  of 

80  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des  Germany,  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this  work, 
Saints,"  tome  viii.,  viie  Jour  dejuillet,  p.102.  at  June  5th,  Art.  i,  chap,  i.,  and  nn.  7,  8, 

81  He  is  noticed,  with  other  holy  bishops,  9,  ibid. 

in  that  German  Synod,  held  on  the  eleventh  8»  See    "Catalogus  Scriptorum  Ecclesias- 

of  the  May  Kalends,  A. D.  742.  ticorum,"  fol.  Hi.,  <5v;c. 

82  See  Mabillon's  "Annales  Ordinis  S.  *>  See  Mabillon's  "Annales  Ordinis  S. 
Benedicti,"  tomus  ii.,  lib.   xxii.,   sect,   xvii.,  Benedicti,"  tomus  ii.,   lib.   xxv.,    sect,   lv., 

p.  135-  P-  275- 

83  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "Lives  of  the  »«  He  died,  on  the  1 8th  or  the  24th  of 
Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints,"  September,  A.D.  768.  See  M.  Le  Dr. 
vol.  vii.,  July  vii.  Hoefer's   "  Nouvelle  Biographie  General," 

8*  He  died  a.d.  761.  tome  xxxix.,  col.  541. 


July  7.]  LIVES  OP  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  117 


age,  and  about  the  year  788.92  According  to  other  statements,  on  the  7  th  of 
July,  a.d.  790,  he  breathed  his  last,  and  in  the  place  where  his  episcopal  See 
had  been  established.  He  was  buried  in  his  own  cathedral. 93  In  938,  Pope 
Leo  VII.  canonized  him,  according  to  some  accounts;04  and  a  translation  of 
his  remains  took  place  in  989.95  Subsequently,  Engelhard,  the  thirty-fourth 
bishop  in  succession  of  this  See,  erected  a  chapel  to  St.  Willibald,  and  which 
has  been  converted  since  into  the  choir  of  the  existing  cathedral. 96  There  is 
now  to  be  seen  a  beautiful  representation  of  St.  Willibald,  and  seated  between 
two  columns  ;  on  a  pediment  over  it  is  a  large  crucifix,  with  statues  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary  and  St.  John  of  the  Cross,  resting  on  the  aforesaid  columns 
and  one  on  either  side  of  the  crucifix.97  Several  relics  of  St.  Willibald  had 
been  formerly  preserved  at  Aichstadt.  Various  miracles  are  recorded,  as 
having  taken  place,  and  soon  after  his  death,98  owing  to  the  merits  of  this 
holy  bishop. 99  No  less  than  four  different  translations  of  his  relics  are 
recorded.100  The  first  was  to  the  altar  of  St.  Vitus  ;  the  second  was  to  the 
middle  of  the  church  ;  the  third  was  to  the  choir  of  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  and 
the  fourth  to  the  choir  of  St.  Willibald.101  In  the  year  1270,  the  Bishop 
Hildebrand  built  a  cathedral  church  in  his  honour.  To  it,  his  relics  were 
brought  with  great  solemnity,  by  his  successor  Engelhard,  and  there  they 
have  been  preserved  with  great  veneration,  to  the  present  day.102  However, 
it  was  feared,  that  during  the  war  with  the  Swedes,  when  many  places  in 
Aichstadt  were  burned  or  desecrated,  that  some  of  the  relics  of  St.  Willibald 
had  not  been  spared. io3  At  Furnes  in  Flanders  a  portion  of  his  relics  was 
preserved.  The  tomb  of  Willibald  is  now  to  be  seen  in  the  cathedral  of 
Eichstadt.,04  In  this  diocese,  his  festival  had  been  ritually  celebrated  as  a 
Double  of  the  First-Class.  In  Augsburg  diocese  adjoining,  it  was  celebrated 
as  a  Double. io5  A  chapter  of  canons — called  Willibaldin  in  honour  of  this 
saint — has  been  attached  to  his  cathedral.  An  old  office  of  St.  Willibald 
had  been  preserved  at  Aichstadt.106  Both  the  Roman  io7  and  the  English 
Martyrologies  venerate  his  memory,    on  this  day.IoS      In  the  anonymous 

92  Such  is  the  statement  of  J.  H.N.  (Car-  been  questioned,  by  Father  John  Baptist 
dinal  Newman),  in  his  elegantly  written  Life      Soller. 

of  St.  Willibald,  contained  in  '•  Lives  of  the  10-  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes'  "  Vies  des 

English  Saints,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  71.  Saints,"  tome  viii.,  viie  Jour  de  Juillet,  pp 

93  See  Mabillon's  "  Annales  Ordinis  S.  Be-       102,  103,  n.  I. 

nedicti,"  tomus  ii.,  lib.  xxv.,  sect,  lix.,  p.  276.  It>3  According  to  the  account  of  the  Most 

94  Soller  takes  exception  to  this  statement,  Rev.  and  noble  Bishop  John  Adam  (Dio- 
as  the  solemnities  for  canonization  were  not  clensis),  it  was  not  well  known,  how  much 
then  instituted.  of  St.    Willibald's  body  remainded  in    the 

95  According  to  Bishop  Philips'  state-  vaults  of  the  church,  as  his  tomb  had  not 
nient.  been  opened. 

90  In  the  year  1276,  this  same  bishop  had  I04  See  "  Gazetteer  of  the  World,"  vol.  v., 

a  cut-stone   tomb  prepared   to  receive   tbe  p.  178. 

relics.  105  This  seems  to  be  established  from  an 

97  Copperplate  illustrations  of  this  artistic  Index  to  the  Divine  Office  of  that  diocese, 
object,  and  of  the  altar  there,  are  given  by  printed  a.d.  1685. 

the  Bollandists,  as  illustrations  for  St.  Willi-  lo6  Extracts  from  it  are  given  by  the  Bol- 

bald's  Acts.  landists. 

98  This  is  stated,  by  an  ancient  but  anony-  10?  Thus  :  "  In  Saxonia  sancti  Willebaldi 
mous  writer,  and  it  is  to  be  found  in  Gretser's  priini  Eistetensis  Episcopi,"  Sec. — "  Martyr* 
"Catalogus  Episcoporum  Eystettensium,"  ologium  Roraanum  Gregorii  XIII.,"  p.  97. 
p.  428.  Romae,  1878,  fol.  ed. 

99  Bishop  Philip  relates,  in  no  less  than  Io8  See  Dean  Cressy's  "  Church  His- 
eighteen  paragraphs,  the  miracles  wrought  tory  of  Brittany,"  book  xxiv.,  chap,  xvii., 
through  his  intercession.  p.  644. 

100  According  to  Bishop  Philip's  account,  109  See  '*  Historic  Catholicae  Iberniae 
cap.  xxxviii.                                                          Compendium,"  tomus  i.,  liv.   iv.,  cap.  xi., 

101  The  foregoing  statement  in  the  text  has      p.  50, 


u8  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  7, 


Calendar  of  Irish  Saints,  published  by  O'Sullevan  Beare,10?  this  great  saint's 
name  is  written  Wilchibald,  where  it  is  entered,  at  the  7th  of  July.  As  a 
Scottish  saint,  Thomas  Dempster  has  likewise  entered  the  feast  of  this  holy 
bishop,  in  his  Calendar,110  at  the  7th  of  July.111  In  summing  up  the  virtues 
of  St.  Willibald,  one  of  his  biographers,  Bishop  Philip,  states,  that  he  was 
bountiful  in  alms-giving,  assiduous  in  vigils,  devout  in  prayer,  perfect  in 
charity,  filled  with  a  humane  spirit,  distinguished  for  his  learning,  fluent  in 
eloquence,  and  most  holy  in  conversation.  The  serenity  of  his  looks  mani- 
fested the  candour  of  his  mind,  while  his  gentle  words  indicated  a  kindly 
heart  j  and  all  his  exterior  appearance  conveyed  truthfully  the  reign  of  sanc- 
tity in  his  soul. 


Article  III. — St.  Cronia,  Cronae  or  Croine  Beg,  Virgin,  of 
Tempull-Crone,  County  of  Donegal.  The  simple  entry,  Cronae,  occurs 
in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  at  the  7th  of  July.  There  is  nothing  more  to 
indicate  her  place  or  period,  in  that  record.  The  Bollandists  2  received  from 
Father  Thomas  O'Sheerin  their  notice  of  Crona  parva  or  Crona  parva  virgo, 
for  entry,  at  this  date.  We  are  told,  she  belonged  to  the  race  of  Conall 
Gulban,sonto  Niall.  This  St.  Cronia,  virgin,  was  the  daughter  of  Diermit, 
son  to  Garuan,  son  to  Brandub,  son  to  Malge,  son  to  Ennius  Bogun,  the  son 
of  Conall  Gulban.  According  to  the  Sanctilogium  and  Selvacius,  this  virgin 
was  venerated,  on  the  7th  of  July,  in  the  church  of  Tempull  Crone,  within 
the  district  of  Tyrconnell.3  Hence  then,  her  church  is  to  be  sought  for  in 
the  extreme  north-western  districts  of  Ireland.  It  is  now  identified  with 
Templecroan,4  a  most  extensive  parish,*  in  the  barony  of  Boylagh,  and  county 
of  Donegal.6  The  church  of  this  parish,  no  doubt,  derived  its  name  from  this 
present  saint.  Yet,  we  cannot  discover,  in  what  manner  she  had  relation 
with  it.  The  greater  part  of  that  dreary  district,  known  as  "  the  Rosses,"? 
lies  within  the  parish  of  Templecroan.  A  wilderness  of  rugged  mountain 
wastes  and  heaths  are  broken  towards  the  west,  into  abrupt  and  rocky  heights. 
Several  islands,  separated  by  inlets  of  the  sea,  are  scattered  along  the  western 
coast  of  the  mainland.8  In  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,0  at  this  same  date, 
a  festival  is  entered  in  honour  of  Croine  Beg,  virgin,  of  Tempull  Croine,  in 
Tir  Conaill. 


Article  IV. — St.  Comgell  or  Coimgell,  Virgin,  and  Daughter 
to  Diarmaid.  In  the  holiness  of  woman's  life,  the  poor  may  discover  a 
wealth  of  resources,  where  good  will  predominates ;  while  the  rich  may  find 

1,0  The  Menologium  Scoticum.  s  It  contains  52,921  acres.     These  include 

111  Thus  :  "In  Thuringia  Vvillibakli    Eis-  4.355a.  or.  37p.,  on  Aran  Island;  989a.    ir. 

tetensis  episcopi   primi,  et  gentis  Apostoli,  27p.  of  the  Gweedore  tideway  ;  and  under 

VV.  F." — Bishop  Forbes'    "  Kalendars     of  Loughs,  2,896a.  I r.  9p. 

Scottish  Saints,"  p.  205.  6  There  is  a  good  Map  of  this  district  in 

Article    hi. — x  Edited    by    Rev.   Dr.  Black's   "Guide    to    Belfast,    the    Giants' 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  Causeway  and  the  North  of  Ireland."  Edin- 

2  See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii.,  burgh,  1872,  l2mo. 

Julii  vii.     Among  the  pretermitted    saints,  7  It  comprises  a  total  area  of  about  thirty 

p.  452.  square    miles,    which    is  well  described  in 

3  See   Colgan's  "Trias    Thaumaturga,"  Eraser's  "Handbook  for  Travellers  in  Ire* 
Quarta  Appendix  ad  Vitam   S.  Columbse,  land."  No.  146,  pp.  601  10603. 

cap.  iii.,  p.  480.  8  See  Lewis'    "  Topographical  Dictionary 

4  It  is  described,  on  the  "  Ordnance  Stir-  of  Ireland,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  603,  604. 
veyTownland  Maps  for  the  County  of  Done-  9  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 
gal,"  sheets  32,  40,  41,  48,  49,  50,  56,  57,  58.  188,   189. 


July  7.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  119 


by  contrast,  the  sad  waste  of  their  wearisome  idleness,  and  the  empty  results 
of  a  profitless  industry.  According  to  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  on  this 
day,  Comgell  ingen  Diarmata,  or  Comgell,  daughter  to  Diarmaid,  was  com- 
memorated. According  to  the  entry  for  this  day,  and  which  the  Bollandists3 
acknowledge  as  having  been  received  from  Father  Thomas  O'Sheerin,  Com- 
gella,  the  daughter  of  Diermitu,  was  sister  to  the  preceding  Crona.  The  name 
of  this  pious  lady  has  been  Latinized  Candida;  and,  it  has  been  supposed,  as 
occurring  in  our  Irish  Calendars,  that  it  comes  nearest  in  phonetic  pronuncia- 
tion to  that  of  a  St.  Keevil,  venerated  in  Ballybrennan  parish,  county  of 
Wexford.  St.  Keevil's  well  is  there  known,  and  a  patron  was  formerly  held 
on  the  27th  of  August.3  According  to  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,*  venera- 
tion was  paid  at  the  7th  of  July  to  Coimgell,  virgin,  and  daughter  of  Diar- 
maid. 


Article  V. — St.  Fiadabair,  or  Fiadhabhair,  of  Uachtar-achadh, 
now  Ballinamore,  Count v  Leitrim.  At  the  7th  of  July,  the  Martyr- 
ology of  Tallagh  x  records  a  festival  to  honour  Fiadabair,  of  Uachtair  Achaid. 
This  district  comprised  the  entire  of  the  parish  of  Oughteragh,  or  Ballina- 
more, in  the  north  of  the  barony  of  Carrigallen,  and  county  of  Leitrim.2 
Father  Thomas  O'Sheerin  furnished  the  Bollandists  3  with  a  notice  of  a 
Fiadabaria,  for  this  day.  Again,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal, *  at  the  same 
date,  the  name  appears,  as  Fiadhabhair,  of  Uachtar-achadh,  in  Cinel 
Luachain. 


Article  VI. — St.  Tingmaich  or  Trighmeach,  Bishop.  We  find  en- 
tered, in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  Tingmaich,  at  this  day.  Neither  his 
place  nor  his  period  appears  to  be  known.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,2 
at  the  7  th  of  July,  there  is  a  festival  in  honour  of  Trighmeach,  a  Bishop.  Fur- 
nished with  the  entry  by  Father  O'Sheerin,  the  Bollandists  3  have  Trigmechus 
Episcopus,  at  the  present  date. 


Article  VII. — Reputed  Festival  for  St.  Medran  and  St.  Odhrain. 
These  holy  brothers  were  illustrious  for  their  sanctity.  However,  it  is  not 
likely,  they  should  be  commemorated  at  this  date  ;  but,  from  the  meagre 
data  and  unreliable  references  to  them  in  various  records,  we  follow  only  in 
the  wake  of  other  writers.  At  present,  their  Acts  are  not  known  to  be  extant. 
Hence,  it  is  difficult  to  give  reliable  particulars  regarding  them.  Notices  of 
these  two  saints,  on  the  7th  of  July,  are  contained  l  in  the  Bollandists'  great 


Article    iv.—  1  Edited    by    Rev.    Dr.  Four  Masters,"  vol.  iv.,  n.  (c),  p.  719. 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  3   See     "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

2  See',   Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  Julii  vii.     Among  the  pretermitted   feasts, 
vii.    Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  452,  p.  452 

3  See  "Letters  containing  Information  rela-  4  Edited  by   Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 
tive  to  the  Antiquities  of  theCounty  of  Wex-  188,  189. 

ford,  collected  during  the  Progress  of  the  Article    vi.— *     Edited   by    Rev.  Dr. 

Ordnance  Survey   in  1840,"   vol.   i.     John  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

O 'Donovan's  Letter,  p.  280.  2  Edited    by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp 

4  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  188,  189. 

188,  189.  s  See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"     tomus     ii., 

Article   v.—  1     Edited    by   Rev.    Dr.  Julii  vii.     Among  the  pretermitted  saints, 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  p.  452. 

2  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "Annals  of  the  Article  vii. — '   In    two   sections,    by 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  7. 


work  f  although  it  is  stated,  that  we  look  in  vain  for  a  record  of  them,  in  any 
of  the  Irish  Calendars,  whether  published  or  in  Manuscript.  In  the  Universal 
Martyrology  of  Castellan,  there  is  an  entry  of  St.  Medranus  alone,  at  this 
date;  while,  the  feast  of  his  brother  St.  Odranus  is  referred,  to  the  nth  of 
October.  This  arrangement  he  appears  to  have  adopted,  from  different 
annotations  of  Colgan,  yet  which  do  not  seem  mutually  to  accord.  Thus,  in 
one  instance,  St.  Medranus  or  Medragius,  besides  being  regarded  as  a  monk 
under  St.  Kieran, 3  of  Saigir,  is  also  classed  among  St.  Patrick's  disciples.* 
There,  however,  he  is  assigned  a  feast,  for  the  6th  of  June,5  at  which  date, 
we  have  already  noticed  a  St.  Medhran  or  Medrain,  Bishop.  Elsewhere,  he 
is  mentioned,  as  Medhranus  or  Medhragius,  in  connexion  with  a  brother, 
named  Odranus,6  and  both  of  these  are  stated  to  have  been  sons  of  Mac- 
craith,  son  to  Trochall,  son  of  Esomon,  son  to  Daigrse,  son  of  Nuadhat,  &c. 
However,  another  pair  of  brothers,  St.  Medranus  and  St.  Murchu,  are  vene- 
rated on  the  8th  day  of  June,?  and  these  are  called  sons  of  Hua  Macten.8 
Again,  both  St.  Medranus  and  St.  Odranus,  the  sons  of  Maccraith,  are  men- 
tioned, as  belonging  to  the  race  of  Cairbre  Baschaoin,  and  thus  they  become 
related  to  St.  Senan  of  Inis-cathaigh.  There,  while  the  feast  of  the  former  is 
thought  to  be  on  the  6th  or  8th  of  June ;  the  festival  of  the  latter  has  been 
assigned  to  the  2nd  or  to  the  -26th  of  October.9  According  to  the  account 
contained  in  the  Life  of  St.  Kieran  of  Saighir,  proceeding  from  Muscraige 
Thire,  and  from  the  village  of  Lettir,  St.  Medran  and  St.  Odhrain  were 
brothers,  who  came  to  visit  his  monastery.  The  province  of  Connaught  they 
specially  desired  to  seek,  and  there  they  intended  to  settle,  at  a  place  called 
Tulach-ruaidh.  But,  St.  Medran  chose  to  remain  at  Saigir,  to  become  a  dis- 
ciple of  St.  Kiaran  the  Elder,  in  his  monastery.  For  this  change  of  purpose, 
he  was  reproached  by  Odhran,  who  besought  St.  Kieran  to  refuse  Medran 
admission.  St.  Kieran  replied:  "Let  the  Lord  decide  between  you,  if  he 
should  remain  here  or  depart  with  you.  Let  him  now  hold  a  lamp  in  his 
hand,  and  if  it  be  kindled  into  a  flame  with  his  breath,  he  ought  to  remain 
here,  but,  if  otherwise,  let  him  depart  with  you."  Immediately,  Median's 
breath  lighted  the  lamp,  and  accordingly,  he  remained  at  Saighir,  to  the  end 
of  his  days,  and  with  a  reputation  for  great  sanctity.  Then,  St.  Kieran  said 
to  Odhran  :  "  Hear  me,  brother  Odhran,  I  tell  you  truly,  that  even  if  you 
visited  the  four  quarters  of  the  world,10  you  shall  die  notwithstanding,  in  your 
village  of  Lettir.11  Wherefore,  return  and  remain  there,  because  from  thy  name, 


Father  John  Baptist  Soller,  S.J.  work,   notices    will   be   found    of  both    in 

2  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  Ait.  v.,  vi. 

vii.    De    SS.     Medrano    et    Odrano    Fiat.  8  See  Colgan's   "  Acta  Sanctorum  1 1  iber- 

ConfessoribusLethreci  in  Ilibernia,  pp.  477,  niae,"  Martii  v.     Vita  S.    Kierani   Fpiscopi 

478.  et  Confessoris.  cap.  xxviii.,  p.  461,  and  nn. 

3  See  his  Life,  in  the  Third  Volume  of  31,  32,  p.  465. 

this  work,  at  the  5th  of  March,  Art.  i.  »  See //-/>/.,  Martii  viii.,  Appendix  ad  Vitam 

4  See   Colgan's    "Trias    Thaumaturga,"  S.  Senani,  cap.  iiL,  p.  542  rteU  53$. 
Quinta  Appendix  ad  Acta    S.  Patricii,  cap.  10  The   Latin   words  are:    "et  si  quatuor 
xxiii.,  p.  268.  rhundi  plagas  circumiveris,"  &c.    A  curious 

s  In   the   Sixth   Volume    of  this    work,  question  arises  from  this  passage  in  tiie  old 

Art.  vi.  Life:    Did    the  writer  believe,     there   were 

6  According  to  the   Genealogic   Pedigrees  lour  great    Continents  then   known   in   Ire- 

ofthe  Irish  Saints,  chap,  xvii.,  tiiese  are  re-  land  to  exist  ?     It  seems  most  probable,  that 

spectively  called   St.   Medhragius  of  Saigir  besides     the    geographical     knowledge    of 

and  St.  Odhranus  the  Master.      The  former  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  then  undoubtedly 

as  we  are  told  is  called  Medhranus,  also,  in  possessed,  that  of  (beat  Ireland,  or  the  pre* 

various  Irish  Calendars,  as  may  be  seen  by  sent  American  Continent,  was  equally  a  fact 

referring  to  the  6th  and  8th  of  June.  of  which  the  early  Irish  had  cognizance  long 

"i  At  that  date,  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this  before  the  age  of  Christopher  Columbus. 


July  7.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAIN1S. 


that  village  shall  henceforward  be  distinguished/'  And  so  it  happened. 
According  to  the  word  of  Kieran,  Odhran  returned  to  that  place,  where  he 
erected  a  religious  establishment.  The  latter  was  Abbot  over  that  monas- 
tery in  Muscraigia,  or  Muskerry.  It  was  called  from  him  Leitter  Odhrain. 
There,  he  was  distinguished  for  great  virtue,  and  many  miracles,  as  hath  been 
recorded  in  his  Life.12  There,  too,  he  passed  away  from  this  earth,  to  enjoy 
the  rewards  of  eternal  bliss. 


Article  VIII. — Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Boisilus.  At  the  Nones 
or  7th  day1  of  July,  in  the  Scottish  Kalendar  De  Nova  Farina,  there  is  an 
entry  of  St.  Bosilius  and  of  his  companions.  At  this  date,  likewise,  the  Bol- 
landists,2 quoting  a  Codex  Usuardinus  Altempsianus,  has  a  feast — and  as 
they  remark  very  unintelligibly  entered — for  Boisilus  cum  Maria  Virgine.  To 
them,  he  does  not  appear  different  from  St.  Boisilus,  whose  festival  occurs  on 
the  23rd  of  January. 


Article  IX. — Reputed  Festival  of  a  Translation  of  St.  Kenti- 
gern,  Bishop,  Scotland.  In  Greven,  and  in  the  Manuscript  Florarius 
Sanctorum,  there  is  a  Translation  of  St.  Kentigern,  Bishop,  recorded,  at  the 
7th  of  July.  A  well  known  feast  for  this  holy  Scottish  prelate  is  at  the  13th  of 
January,1  as  the  Bollandists  2  observe.  His  chief  festival,  however,  is  at  the 
13  th  of  November.3 


Article  X. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Colman.  Father  Henry  Fitzsimon 
has  a  Colmanus,  at  the  7th  of  July,1  as  he  quotes  from  the  Life  of  St. 
Kilian.     This  festival  belongs  more  properly  to  the  ensuing  day. 


Article  XI. — Reputed  Festival  for  a  Translation  of  the  Eleven 
Thousand  Virgins  and  Martyrs.  In  the  Florarius  Sanctorum,  it  is  stated, 
that  at  Cologne  on  the  7th  of  July  took  place  a  Translation — we  may  pre- 
sume relating  to  the  Relics- — of  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgin  Martyrs  con- 
nected with  that  city.  The  Bollandists,1  at  this  day,  record  such  an  entry; 
but  they  wonder  how,  if  it  were  true,  the  notice  should  have  been  omitted 
from  the  Cologne  Martyrologies.  However,  they  refer  to  the  21st  of  Octo- 
ber,2 as  destined  to  relate  all  that  need  be  stated  regarding  those  Ursuline 
Virgins  and  Martyrs. 


Article  XII. — Reputed  Festival  for  Saints  Wilchibaldus,  Disi- 
bodus,  Kalian,  Bibianus,  Totnanus.     A  feast  for  St.  Disibodus  has  been 

11  It  is  also  written  Lettren,  in  St.  the  reader  is  referred  to  that  date,  in  the 
Kieran's  Life.  First  Volume  of  this  work,  Art.  ii. 

12  This  statement,  taken  from  the  old  2  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii., 
Acts  of  St.  Kieran,  proves,  that  formerly  Julii  vii.  Among  the  pretermitted  saints, 
such  a  biography  had  been  composed.     It  is  p.  449. 

one  of  the  many  ancient  tracts,  which  have  3  bee  his  Acts  given  at  that  date. 

since  been  lost.  Article  x. — *    See  O'Sullevan  Beare's 

Article    viii. — *    Thus:    "  Bosilii    et  "  Historic    Catholicae     Iberniae    Compen- 

Sociorum." — Bishop  Forbes'  "  Kalendarsof  dium,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  ii.,  p.  53. 

Scottish  Saints,"  p.  73.  Article    XI.— *    See     "Acta    Sancto- 

2  See    "Acta     Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii.,  rum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  vii.     Among  the  pre- 

Julii  vii.     Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  tcrmitted  saints,  p.  452. 

p.  449.  2  For  their  Acts,  the  reader  is  referred  to 

Article  ix. — l  For  some  notices  of  him,  the  same  day. 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [J  uly  8. 


assigned  to  this  day,  by  Camerarius,  as  the  Bollandists1  remark  ;  while  by 
Castellan,  it  has  been  relegated  to  the  8th  of  September,  as  having  been  held 
in  Disemberg,  near  Spanheim,  in  the  diocese  of  Mayence.  The  Bollandists 
refer  its  celebration  to  the  8th  of  July.  In  the  anonymous  Calendar  of  Irish 
Saints,  published  by  O'Sullevan  Beare,2  these  names,  Wilchibaldus,  Dissibo- 
dus,  Kalian,  Bibianus  and  Totnanus,  occur,  at  the  7th  of  July.  But,  I  sus- 
pect typographical  error  and  a  misplaced  festival,  at  least  so  far  as  concerns 
most  of  them. 


Article  XIII. — Reputed  Festival  of  a  St.  Bicce.  Veneration  was 
given  to  Bicce,  at  this  date,  according  to  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh.1  Else- 
where, we  find  no  corresponding  entry,  in  any  other  Calendar. 


®fgl)tb  J3ap  of  Snip* 


ARTICLE  I.— THE  ACTS  OF  ST.   KILIAN,  APOSTLE  OF  FRANCONIA, 

MARTYR  AND  BISHOP,  AS  ALSO  OF  HIS  COMPANIONS,  ST. 

COLMAN,  PRIEST,  AND  ST.  TOTNAN,  DEACON,  MARTYRS. 

\S EVE  NTH    CENTURY.] 

CHAPTER     I. 

INTRODUCTION— MANUSCRIPT  AND  PUHLTSHED  ACTS  OF  THOSE  HOLY  MARTYRS— THE 
COUNTRY  OF  THEIR  BIRTH — ST.  KILIAN'S  FAMILY  AND  HIS  EARLY  EDUCATION — 
HE  EMBRACES  THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  STATE — HIS  PREACHING  AND  LABOURS  IN 
IRELAND — WITH  ELEVEN  OTHER  COMPANIONS  HE  LEAVES  FOR  FRANCE  AND  GER- 
MANY— HE  TRAVELS   TO  WURTZBURG— PAGANISM  THERE   PREVAILING. 

MANY  aspire  to  heroic  fame,  but,  impelled  thereto  through  motives  of 
human  ambition ;  while  the  present  holy  martyrs  were  humble  in 
their  own  estimation,  yet  exalted  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  they  are  revered  by 
just  persons,  because  they  ended  virtuous  lives,  through  the  treacherous  and 
evil  machinations  of  those  who  conspired  their  death.  Many  seek  for  know- 
ledge, by  relying  too  much  on  their  own  abilities,  and  without  asking  for  those 
Heavenly  lights,  which  can  alone  effectually  dispel  the  darkness  of  mental 
vision  ;  but,  St.  Kilian  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  Irish  Doctors  ■  on  account  of 
his  learning,  while  he  turned  this  learning  to  forward  noble  aims,  by  observing 
the  Divine  Commandments,  and  by  labouring  with  zeal  for  the  extension  of 
God's  kingdom,  among  the  unenlightened  and  unbelievers. 

The  Life  of  St.  Kilian,  Apostle  of  Franconia,  has  been  written,  at  a  period 
not  long  after  his  death  ;  while  various  Manuscript  Acts,  relating  to  him  and 
to  his  companions,  have  been  preserved  to  our  own  times.  With  his  Acts  are 


Article  xii. — x  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  Article    xiii. —  *  Edited  by  Rev.    Dr. 

tomus    ii.,  Julii  vii.      Among    the    prctcr-  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

mitted  feasts,  p.  452.  Article   i. — Chapter    1.— See  Father 

2  See  "  Historioe  Catholicce  Ibemiae  Com-  Stephen  White's  "  Apologia  pro  Hibernia," 

pendium,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  xi.,  p.  50.  cap.  v.,  p.  66. 


July  8.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


123 


usually  associated  those  of  his  companions  in  martyrdom,  Saints  Colman  and 
Totnan.  There  is  a  Harleian  Manuscript 2  Vita  S.  Kiliani.3  in  a  large  vellum 
folio,  belonging  to  the  twelfth  century.  This  Life  has  been  interpolated, 
however,  with  subsequent  additions.*  There  is  a  Tract,*  De  S.  Kiliano  cum 
Sociis  suis,  Martyribus,6  and  it  seems  to  have  been  an  abridgment  of  the 
former  piece.  An  Admont  Manuscript  7  contains  a  different  Vita  S.  Kiliani,8 
and  this  has  been  published  by  the  Bollandists,?  from  a  Manuscript  in  their 
possession,  collated  with  other  Manuscripts,10  as  also  with  the  text  of 
Canisius  "  and  of  Mabillon."  There  is  another  Admont  Manuscript,  con- 
taining Passio  Chiliani,  Martyris,  et  aliorum  Sociorum  ejus.^  Among  the 
Arundel  Manuscripts,  in  the  British  Museum,  there  is  a  thirteenth  century 
Tract,1*  "  Legenda  in  festo  S.  Kiliani  ;"xs  but,  it  is  short,  and  apparently  of 
no  great  value.16  There  is  an  account  by  Sander1?  regarding  a  Vita  S. 
Kiliani.18  There  are  various  copies  of  a  Manuscript  intituled,  Vita  S.  Kiliani 
Sociorumque  ejus,  in  the  National  Library,10  Paris ;  in  that  of  the  city  of 
Metz  ;2°  in  that  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,21  Bruxelles  ;  two  copies  of  his 
Acts  are  at  Bamberg  ;22  three  at  Vienna  -p  two  copies  at  Hamburg  ;2*  one 
copy  at  Stuttgart,2*  one  at  Windberg,20  one  at  Wurtzburg,2?  one  at  Rebdorf,28 
and  one  at  Lilienfeld.20 


8  Numbered  2801,  in  ff  54l>56. 

3  This  has  a  Prologue,  commencing 
"  Sanctorum  Martyrum  certamina."  Then 
the  Passio  commences  with  the  words  : 
"  Beatus  Kilianus,  Scotorum  genere,"  &c. 
Expl.  Passio. — "  manifeste  curabimus,  ad 
laudem  et  gloriam  Domini  nostri  Jesu 
Christi,  qui  cum  Patre  et  Spiritu  Sancto 
vivit  et  regnat  Deus  per  infinita  ssecula 
sseculorum.  Amen."  This  has  been  printed 
by  Canisius,  in  "  Antiquos  Lectiones," 
tomus  iv.,  pars  ii.,  p.  625,  and  also  by  Sera- 
rius,  in  Opera,  p.  329,  Ed.  Mogunt,  a.d. 
161 1,  fob  Surius  has  issued  it,  in  "  De  Pro- 
batis  Sanctorum  Vitis,"  vol.  iv.,  Julii  viii., 
pp.  135  to  138. 

4  It  has  been  published  by  the  Bollan- 
dists,  in  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii., 
Julii  viii. 

5  It  is  printed  in  Capgtave's  "  Nova  Le- 
genda Anglise,"  but  it  does  not  occur  in 
John  of  Teignmouth's  "  Sanctilogium,"  as 
found  among  the  Cottonian  MSS.  Tiber. 
E.  i.,  and  among  the  Bodleian  MSS.  Tan- 
ner, 15. 

6  It  begins  with  these  words :  "  Beatus 
Kilianus,  genere  Scotorum,  nobilibus  ortus 
parentibus  ;"  and  it  ends  with  these  words  : 
"  corpora  Sanctorum  revelavit,  et  visum  re- 
cepit." 

i  Headed  :  "  Passio  S.  Cholomani,  Passio 
S.  Kyliani  episcopi." 

8  This  begins  with  these  words  :  "  Fuit 
vir  vitse  venerabilis  nomine  Killena,  quern 
Scottica  tellus  de  magno  edidit  genere." 
Expl. — regnante  Pippino,  primo  Orientalium 
Francorum  Rege  feliciter." 

9  In  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii 
viii.,  pp.  612  to  614. 

10  Ex  MSS.  Monasteriorum  Windburgen- 
sis  et  Rebdorfensis. 


11  In  "  Antiquce  Lectiones,"  tomus  iv., 
parsii.,  p.  625. 

12  In  "  Acta  Sanctorum  Ordinis  S.  Bene- 
dicti,"  tomus  ii.,  ssec.  ii.,  pp.  991  to  993. 

13  It  begins  with  these  words  :  "  Fuit  in 
Britannia  insula,  provincia  Northanumbrana 
quidam  paterfamilias,  genere  Saxo,  nomine 
Uuillgis,"  &c.  Thus  described  in  Charles 
Purton  Cooper's  Appendix  A. 

14  It  is  a  small  vellum  folio,  classed  198. 
'5  At  fob  28. 

10  It  begins  :  "  Sanctus  Kilianus,  Scotus 
nobilis. 

*7  In  his  work,  "  Bibliotheca  Belgica 
Manuscripta,"  p.  262. 

18  It  begins  with  :  "  Fuit  vir  vitae  venera- 
bilis in  Hibernia,  Kilianus."  Ex  MSS.  In- 
sulis,  apud  Claudium  Doresmieulx. 

19  One  is  on  vellum,  and  of  the  thirteenth 
or  fourteenth  century.  It  is  classed  5278, 
57.  olim  Colbert. 

20  This  is  a  vellum  8vo. 

21  This  is  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
it  is  classed  8942. 

22  Intituled,  Legenta  S.  Kiliani,  and  S. 
Kiliani  Ep.  et  Sociorum  Passio. 

23  Intituled,  S.  Chiliani  Vita,  S.  Kiliani 
ejusque  Sociorum  Passines,  and  also  a  Life 
of  St.  Kilian,  in  German. 

24  Intituled,  Historia  S.  Chiliani,  as  also, 
Passio  S.  Kiliani  et  Sociorum  ejus. 

25  Intituled,  Brevissima  Epitome  Vitse  S. 
Kiliani  aliorumque. 

26  Intituled,  Vitaa  Sanctorum  Kiliani  Epis- 
copi Wirzburgensis,  Kolomani  Presbyten  et 
Totnani  Martyrum. 

27  See  Thomas  Duffus  Hardy's  "Descrip- 
tive Catalogue  of  Materials  relating  to  the 
History  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  to  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VII,"  vol.  i.,part  i., 
PP.  339  to  341. 


124 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAJATS. 


[July  8. 


The  Acts  of  this  Martyrdom  of  St.  Kilian  and  of  his  companions  are 
thought  to  have  been  written  by  P2gilvvald,3°  a  monk  of  St.  Burchard's,  at 
Wurtzburg.31  This  biography,  however,  has  been  interpolated,  nor  do  we 
know  if  an  original  copy  of  it  can  now  be  found.  John  of  Erford  3a  also 
wrote  the  Life  of  our  saint,  in  Latin  verse. 33 

St.  Kilian  and  his  companions,  Martyrs,  are  commemorated  in  the 
"  Hystorie  plurimorum  Sanctorum," 34  and  in  Capgrave.W  At  the  8th  of 
July,  Lippeloo  notices  them,36  as  also  Baillet,37  and  in  the  Benedictine  collec- 
tion 38  they  are  to  be  found.  The  learned  Jesuit  writer  Nicolaus  Serarius 
has  admirably  illustrated  the  Acts  of  these  Martyrs, ^  m  some  historic  and 
dogmatic  notes,  he  has  added  to  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  as  published  by 
Surius.  The  Acts  of  St.  Kilian  and  of  his  companions  are  also  preserved  in 
Canisius,40  but  the  Life  as  issued  here  is  interpolated. 41  The  Acts  of  those  holy 
Martyrs  have  been  published  by  John  Bale,42  as  also  by  Laurence  Surius, 43  in 
eleven  paragraph?  ;  but,  according  to  his  method,  abbreviating  original  docu- 
ments and  polishing  their  style  ;44  by  Molanus  also,  by  Mabillon,45  and  by 
Baronius.  Messingham*6  has  published  the  Life  of  St.  Kilian,  with  notes.  The 
Bollandists  have  issued  the  Acts  of  those  holy  Martyrs,  at  the  8th  day  of 
July.47  Their  editor  has  been  Father  John  Baptist  Soller,  S.J.,  who  has 
given  a  previous  commentary,48  with  notes  appended  to  those  Acts.  The 
first  in  order  of  these  is  that  found  substantially  in  the  Admont  Manuscript^ 
and  the  second  is  that,  which  is  met  with  in  the  Harleian  Manuscript. s°  This 
has  been  attributed  to  the  monk  Egilvvardus.51     The  Bollandists  obtained 


28  Intituled,  Vitse  Sanctorum  Kiliani  Epis- 
copi  Wirzhurgensis,  Kolomani  Presbyter i  et 
Totnani  Mariyrum.  See  Charles  Purton 
Cooper's  Supplement  to  Appendix  A., 
p.  63. 

29  Intituled,  Vita  S.  Kyliani. 

3°  He  wrote  the  Life  of  St.  Burchard. 

31  In  that  Life  of  our  saint,  attributed  te 
him,  and  published  by  the  Bollandists,  at 
the  close,  the  writer  promises  to  write  a  Life 
of  St.  Burchard. 

32  He  was  a  monk  in  the  Monastery  of  St. 
Stephen,  and  he  lived  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. 

33  Serrarius  saw  a  copy  of  it,  but  he  only 
furnishes  the  following  short  specimen  :— 

"Sanctorum  merita norunt compungere 
mentes. 
Cura  solicita    studiove  pio  recolen- 
tes." 

34  Published  at  Louvain,  a.d.  1485.  See 
fol.  xciii.,  xciiii. 

3s  See  "  Nova  Legenda  Anglise,"  fol. 
ccxiii. 

36  See  "Vitze  Sanctorum,"  vol.  iii.,  pp. 
101  to  106. 

3?  See  "  Les  Vies  des  Saints,"  tome  ii., 
pp.  129  to  132. 

38  See  Mabillon  and  D'Achery's  "Acta 
Sanctorum  Ordinis  S.  Benedicti,"  tomus  ii., 
saec  ii.,  A.D.  600  to  700.  The  Acts  proper 
are  in  12  paragraphs;  there  are  previous 
observations  in  3  paragraphs,  pp.  99 1  to 
993- 


39  His  notes  were  issued  in  1598. 

40  See  "Antique  Lectiones,"  tomus  iv., 
pars  ii.,  p.  628. 

41  According  to  the  learned  critic  Pagius. 
He  remarks,  also,  that  in  St.  Kilian 's 
authentic  Life  the  day  for  his  death  is  not 
found. 

42  See  "  Scriptorum  Illustrium  Majoris 
Brytanniai,"  Posterior  Pars,  Centuaria  De- 
cimaquarta,  num.  xxiii.,  xxiiii.,  pp.  196, 
197. 

43  See  "De  Probatis  Sanctorum  Vitis," 
vol.  iv.,  viii.  Julii,  pp.  135  to  138. 

44  Without  a  consciousness  of  the  fact, 
he  has  thus  very  considerably  lessened  the 
value  of  his  work. 

45  See  "  Annales  Ordinis  S.  Benedicti," 
tomus  i.,  lib.  xvii.,  num.  lxviii.,  pp.  586, 
587. 

46  See  "  Florilegium  Insula;  Sanctorum," 
pp.  318  to  330. 

47  See  **  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii. ,  Julii 
viii.  De  S.  Kiliano  Episc.  et  Martyre, 
Colomano  seu  Colonato  et  Totnano  ejus 
Sociis.     Herbipoli  in  Franconia. 

48  In  six  sections,  and  fifty-nine  para- 
graphs. 

49  This  is  contained  in  nine  paragraphs. 
Throughout  the  succeeding  part  of  this  bio- 
graphy, we  shall  allude  to  this  as  the  First 
Life  of  St.  Kilian. 

s°  There  is  a  Prologue  of  the  Author,  and 
afterwards  follow  two  chapters,  comprising 
twenty-three  paragraphs.  To  this  we  shall 
allude  in  succeeding  pages,  as  the  Second 
Life  of  St.  Kilian. 


July  8.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


"5 


other  Manuscripts^3  which  they  have  used  in  collation  with  those  of  Acts," 
published  by  Canisius  and  Mabillon.  The  Acts  of  St.  Kilian  and  of  his  com- 
panions are  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  Dr.  Meredith  Hanmer,5*  Dean 
Cressey,"  of  Bishop  Challenor,s6  of  Rev.  Alban  Butler, 57  and  of  Rev. 
Hubert  M'Laughlin.*8 

That  St.  Kilian — as  also  inferentially  his  companions  in  Martyrdom,  St. 
Colman  nnd  St.  Totnan — had  belonged  to  the  Scottish  land  by  birth  59  and 
by  race  co  is  stated  in  the  ancient  Acts.  The  latter  holy  Martyrs,  as  subor- 
dinate to  St.  Kilian,  are  often  not  mentioned  in  accounts  of  his  mission,  or 
they  are  separated  from  him  in  veneration.  One  record  left  us  regarding  St. 
Kilian's  Life,  presents  the  statement,  that  he  was  a  Scotus  from  Ireland.61 
Some  of  the  Scotch  writers  have  preferred  a  claim  for  his  birth  having 
occurred  in  Scotland,  from  the  account  of  his  being  set  down  as  a  Scotus. 
That  he  was  a  native  of  Ireland  is  almost  universally  admitted  ;  but,  we  have 
no  account  of  the  part  of  it  to  which  he  belonged.62  The  name  of  St.  Kilian, 
or  Kilianus  as  Latinized,  has  been  varied  by  different  writers  of  his  Acts  to 
Killinus,  Killenus,  Chillianus,  Cilianus,  Ccelianus,  Chilianus,  Quillianus, 
Kyllena  and  Killena.  By  the  Germans  he  is  called  Kulhn.63  In  like  manner, 
the  names  of  his  companions  in  suffering  have  been  confused  by  various 
writers  :  thus,  we  find  Colman  and  Totnan  written  Colmann  and  Totmann  ; 


51  According  to  the  opinion  of  Mabillon. 
As  it  comes  to  us,  it  appears  to  abound  in 
errors,  if  we  are  not  to  deem  these  attribu- 
table to  interpolation. 

53  One  of  these  was  obtained  "  a  nostro 
proegrandiValcellensiseu  Moretianocodice." 
Another  is  described  as  "puriora  Acta  ex 
schedis  IUustrissimi  Episcopi  Lindani." 

53  The  most  ancient  of  our  Martyr's  Acts 
are  supposed  to  have  been  written  after  the 
time  of  St.  Raban  Maur — who  lived  in  the 
early  part  of  the  ninth  century— and  for 
sufficient  reasons  adduced  by  Father  Sober. 

54  See  "  Chronicle  of  Ireland,"  pp.    155, 

156. 

55  See  "The  Church  History  of  Brittany," 
book  xxiii.,  chap,  xxv.,  pp.  613  to  615. 

s6  See  "  Brittannia  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  pp. 
24  to  27. 

57  See  "  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs, 
and  other  principal  Saints,  vol.  vii.,  July 
viii. 

58  See  "  Biographical  Sketches  of  Ancient 
Irish  Saints,"  sect,  xii.,  pp.  182  to  192. 

59  The  Bollandists'  first  Life  have  it: 
"Fuit  vir  vitse  venerabilis,  nomine  Killinus 
quem  Scottica  tellus  de  magno  ededit 
genere,"  &c. 

60  The  second  Life  is  still  more  explicit  : 
"  Beatus  Kilianus,  Scotorum  genere  nobili- 
bus  ortus  parentibus,  divinae  tamen  gratias 
factus  et  nobilitate  clarissimus." 

61  The  Second  Life  afterwards  continues 
its  account  of  St.  Kilian,  as  being  of  Scottish 
origin  :  "  Scotia,  quae  et  Hibernia  dicitur  in- 
sula est  maris  Oceani,  fcecunda  quidem  gle- 
bis,  sed  sanctissimis  clarior  viris  ;  ex  qui  bus 
Columbano  gaudet  Italia,  Gallo  ditatur  Ale- 
mannia ;  Kibano  Teutonica  nobilitatur 
Francia." 


61  A  talented  native  poet,  in  a  composition 
entitled,  "St.  Kilian,"  or  "  A  Lay  of  the 
early  Missionary  Days,"  gives  the  following 
particulars — probably  founded  on  local  tra- 
dition—concerning his  place  of  birth  in 
Breffney.  However,  we  are  inclined  to  be- 
lieve, that  this  has  reference  rather  to  a  St. 
Caillin,  who  was  venerated  on  the  13th  of 
November.  How  the  infancy  of  St.  Kilian 
had  been  passed  is  thus  described  : 

"  Nursed  beneath  an  Irish  mountain,  by 

an  Irish  mother's  hand, 
Where  the  wild   Borora  whispers  to 

the  meadows  of  the  land, 
Taught  the  music  of  the  harper  and 

the  anthems  of  the  blest, 
Kilian  grew  as  grows  the  ash-tree  by 

the  ruins  of  the  west. 

"  Winter  stars  that  light  in  splendour 

Eire's  calm  and  and  solemn  sky, 
Might  have   borrowed   their    chaste 

brightness  from  the  gleaming  of  his 

eye; 
The  young  lily  bending  lowly  when 

the  dew  is  in  the  air, 
Was  a  type  of  his  meek  spirit  when 

his  young  lips  moved  in  prayer." 

— "  A  Wreath  of  Shamrocks  :  Ballads, 
Songs  and  Legends,"  by  John  K.  Casey 
(Leo),  pp.  116  to  131. 

63  See  Bishop  Challerior's  "  Britannia 
Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  24. 

6*  To  this  list  seems  to  be  added  in  the 
Second  Life  Columbanus  and  Gallus.  Sige- 
bert,  Reginus,  and  others  quoted  by  Sera- 
rius,  add  to  or  take  away  some  of  those 
names,  or  vary  them  into  many  forms. 


126  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


Calan  and  Totmann  ;  Colonatus  and  Tothnanus  j  Colanan  and  Tornanan  ; 
Dolomann  and  Tholraann  j  Colomann  and  Tolmann.  Again,  their  names  are 
written  as  Colonat  and  Tothnat.  Other  persons  have  been  added  to  these, 
as  companions  of  St.  Kilian,  such  as  Gallonus,  Arnuuales  and  Donanus.6* 
St.  Kilian  and  his  companions  in  martyrdom  are  also  variedly  noticed,  in 
some  of  the  Calendars  ;  but,  it  is  correct  to  state,  that  the  three  soldiers  of 
Christ  who  travelled  together,  and  who  alone  were  put  to  death  at  Wurtz- 
burg,  were  Saints  Kilian,  Colman  and  Totnan,  while  such  has  been  the  con- 
tinued and  universally  received  tradition  of  the  clergy  and  people,  who 
regard  them  as  their  special  patrons.65 

St.  Kilian  was  of  an  illustrious  family,  and,  it  is  even  stated,  that  this  vene- 
rable martyr  was  of  royal  descent.66  The  respectability  of  his  origin  is 
vouched  for,  by  the  ancient  writers  of  his  Acts.67  There  are  no  data  in  his 
Acts,  notwithstanding,  whereby  we  can  even  approximately  decide  on  the 
period  of  his  birth;  but,  probably  it  was  a  little  before — and  certainly  not 
much  after — the  middle  of  the  seventh  century. 

Almost  from  his  infancy,  St.  Kilian  had  a  taste  for  study,  and  for  the 
acquirement  of  knowledge,  especially  that  tending  to  inform  his  mind  on  sub- 
jects of  highest  interest  to  every  true  Christian.  His  talents  for  the  acquisi- 
tion of  learning  manifested  themselves,  by  progress  and  perseverance  in  his 
studies  ;  while  the  latter  were  directed  in  a  more  especial  manner  to  those 
branches  of  knowledge,  which  might  enable  him  to  gain  souls  for  Christ. 
Especially,  he  applied  with  untiring  endeavours,  to  the  study  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. On  all  occasions,  he  sought  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to 
enlighten  his  mind  on  those  matters,  that  were  "hard  to  be  understood,  which 
the  unlearned  and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do  also  other  Scriptures,  to  their 
own  destruction.68  With  diffidence  in  his  own  judgment,  and  in  his  powers 
of  understanding,  Kilian  referred  all  natural  and  acquired  penetration  to  that 
Almighty  Being,  from  whom  he  received  it ;  and  hence,  he  was  deemed 
worthy  those  superior  gifts  of  intellect  and  of  disposition,  which  placed  him 
in  advance  of  so  many  students,  who  applied  to  sacred  erudition.  After  a 
most  excellent  course  of  instruction,  which  it  appears  his  parents  took  care 
to  procure  for  him,  it  has  been  asserted,  that  at  an  early  age,  Kilian  devoted 
himself  to  the  monastic  profession.6?  Such  was  the  progress  he  made  in 
obedience,  abstemiousness,  prayer  and  vigil,  that  it  was  deemed  expedient  for 
him  to  take  sacred  orders,  and  he  was  advanced  accordingly  through  the 
various  grades.  Having  attained  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood,  he  was  care- 
ful to  discharge  well  its  duties.  His  charities  and  other  good  works  became 
conspicuous  ;  while  his  brethren,  admiring  his  great  virtues,  desired  he  should 
succeed  to  a  higher  charge. 7°  Having  embraced  the  monastic  life,  he  is  said  to 
have  governed  some  monastery.71  However,  it  has  been  doubted  if  there  be 
sufficient  evidence,   to  establish  such  a  conclusion  ;72   while  Father  Soller 


65  See  the  Bollandists'    "  Acta   Sancto-  name  of  this  writer, 
rum,"  tomusii.,  Julii  viii.  DeS.  KilianoEpis.  68  ii.  Peter,  iii.,  16. 

et  Martyre,  Colomano  seu  Colonato  et  Tot-  69  According  to  the  Second  Life, 

nano  ejus  Sociis.  Herbipoli  in  Franconia.  7°  This  is  stated  in  his  Second  Life. 

66  "  In  Hiberniaregio  sanguine  natu?." —  »'  "Of  which,  however,"  adds  Rev.  Dr. 
Molanus.  See,  also,  Lippelo,  Surius  and  I  .anigan,  "  I  do  not  find  any  particular  men- 
B.ironius.  linn." — "Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland," 

67  But    according     to    the    depreciatory  vol.  iii.,  chap,  xviii.,  sect,  x.,  p.  115. 
account,  given  by  Dr.  Meredith  Hanmer,  a  7aTrithemius  goes  so  far  as  to  state,  that  he 
certain  writer  "  saith  he  was   a  king's  base  was  both  monk  and  abbot  in  the  monastery 
sonne."  See  "  Chronicle  of  Ireland,"  p.  155.  of  Iona.     This  statement  is  wholly  ground- 
We  are  not  further  enlightened  regarding  the  less. 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  127 


thinks  it  to  be  just  as  likely,  that  neither  was  St.  Kilian  an  abbot,  nor  were 
his  companions  monks.  St.  Kilian's  pastoral  labours,  after  his  call  to  the 
sacred  ministry,  were  continued  for  several  years  ;  while  many  souls  were 
converted  from  evil  courses,  during  their  exercise.  At  last,  he  had  a  Divine 
admonition,7^  and  he  heard  these  words  :  "  He  that  desires  to  come  after 
me,  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me."74 

Already,  St.  Kilian  had  announced  the  Gospel  with  much  fruit  in  his  own 
country.  According  to  some  accounts,  he  was  there  advanced  to  the  epis- 
copal dignity.75  This,  too,  seems  most  probable,  from  all  we  can  learn,  in 
reference  to  his  career.  As  an  effective  and  a  persuasive  preacher,  he 
acquired  great  renown.  Among  the  Irish  clergy,  he  was  looked  upon  as  the 
most  erudite  scholar,  their  country  could  possibly  produce ;  although  the  fame 
of  Irish  seminaries  for  learning  was  even  then  diffused  over  most  European 
countries.  The  zeal  of  Kilian,  for  the  propagation  of  Divine  Faith  among 
the  pagans,  induced  him  to  think  of  leaving  his  family,  friends  and  native 
country.  Proposing  his  design  to  his  companions,76  and  pointing  out 
with  earnestness  and  eloquence  the  unhappy  condition  of  those,  who  were 
yet  asleep  in  sin  and  ignorance,  and  in  whose  ears  the  voice  of  Gospel  heralds 
had  not  yet  resounded  ;  our  saint  created  a  like  desire  in  the  souls  of  eleven 
among  them,  and  these  resolved  to  accompany  him.77  The  chief  one  among 
them  was  a  priest,  named  Colman,  who  afterwards  suffered  martyrdom 
together  with  St.  Kilian.  A  Deacon,  named  Totnam,  also  the  companion  of 
his  suffering,78  was  one  of  those  companions.  The  year  686  is  that  most 
correctly  set  down  for  their  departure  from  Ireland ;  and,  it  has  been  con- 
jectured, that  St.  Kilian  was  mature  in  years,  at  that  period.  A  few  months 
before  this,  John  V.7?  had  been  raised  to  the  Pontificate.  On  setting  out, 
their  course  was  directed  first  to  Britain.  Thence,  they  sailed  for  the  shores 
of  France.80  On  landing,  they  proceeded  towards  Franconia,  which  lay 
beyond  the  Rhine.  At  length,  they  came  to  the  present  site  of  Wurtzburg,81 
then  only  a  small  village,82  in  which  there  was  a  castle.  This  place  is  now 
the  capital  of  the  circle  of  Lower  Franconia,  and  a  handsome  city  of 
Bavaria,  very  pleasantly  situated,  chiefly  on  the  right  bank  of  the  River  Main, 
which  is  there  crossed  by  a  fine  bridge.      This  city  is  surrounded  by  a  lofty 


73  This  is  stated  in  the  First  Life.  disertimscribit  in  Martyrologio  Beda  .     .     . 

74  St.  Matt,  xvi.,  24.  Et  Paulo  post.     Lectionarius    Moguntinus 

75  We  read  in  the  First  Life  of  St.  Kilian,  liber  enumerat  Colonatum,  Gallonem,  Ar- 
"  ut  exinde  pontificate  didicissit  regere  cut-  nuuildem,  Presbyteros,  Totnatum  Diaco- 
men,"  &c.  The  Bollandist  editor,  Father  num,  septemque  alios."  Serarius,  in  Vita  S. 
Soller,  thinks,  for  reasons  he  assigns,  that  St.  Kiliani,  notis. 

Kilian  had  been  consecrated  as  bishop  in  his  79  He  only  ruled  one  year  from  A.D.  685  to 

own  country.  See  "Acta  Sanctorum, "  tomus  686.     See  Sir  Harris  Nicolas'  "Chronology 

ii.,  Julii    viii.     De    S.    Kiliano    Episc.   et  of  History,"  p.  210. 

Martyre,  Colomano  seu  Colonato  et  Totnano  8o  However,  Thadaeus,  Abbot  of  the 
ejus  Sociis.  Herbipoli  in  Franconia,  Com-  Scots,  at  Ratisbon  writes  :  "  Ad  Flandriam 
mentarius  Prsevius,  sect,  ii.,  num.9,  IO>  IJ>  prospero  comitatu  pervenerunt." — Canisius' 
pp.  601,  602.  "  Antiquce  Lectiones,"  tomus  iv.,  Fragmen- 
ts In  the  First  Life,  their  names  are  thus  turn  Chronicum,  p.  473. 
incorrectly  given  :  "id  est  Lonato  ac  Gal-  8l  Its  first  name  is  said  to  have  been  Mus- 
lone  at  Arnuvalle  presbyteris  et  Totnano  topolis,  and  also  Praxipolis;  afterwards  Her- 
diacano,"  &c.  bipolis;    also   Wirtziburgum,    Wirziburgum 

77  We  read  "qui  quod  mente  conceperat  pro-  and  Wirceburgum,  in  the  vernacular  German 
positum,  sociis  communicans,  invenit  omnes  Wurtzburg. 

non  tantum  consentientes,  sed  divini  spiritus  82  In  the  Topographia   Meriani,   an   in- 

caloresuccensos,ipsumqui  hortabaturad  opus  teresting  account  of  this  city  may  be  found, 

impellentes." — Baronius'  "  Annales  Ecclesi-  83  See  "  Gazetteer  of  the  World,"  vol.  xiv., 

astici,"  tomus  xii.,  A.D.  686,  sect,  vii.,  p.  500.  p.  562. 

78  "De  sancti  Kiliani  sociis,  duos  fuisse  b4  See  "The  Popular  Encyclopedia;  or 


I28  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


wall  and  deep  ditches,  as  also  having  six  gates.  On  the  opposite  bank  is  the 
citadel  or  castle  of  Marienburg,  situated  on  a  rock  400  feet  in  height.8*  The 
soil  around  this  city  is  very  fertile,  producing  much  grain,  while  fine  vine- 
yards abound  in  its  vicinity,  along  the  hills  over  the  valley  of  the  Maine.** 
Wurtzburg  was  then  ruled  by  a  potentate,  whose  name  we  do  not  learn  ;  but 
who  was  succeeded  by  a  person  of  distinction  named  Gozbert  *5  or  Cospert.86 
Regarding  his  origin  or  station,  little  appears  to  be  known.8?  Paganism 
universally  prevailed  among  the  people,  in  that  part  of  Germany,  at  the  time 
of  their  arrival.88  The  Irish  evangelists,  if  not  highly  successful  at  first,  yet 
had  good  hopes  for  the  future.  Thinking  his  prospects  of  success  sufficiently 
flattering,  the  holy  missionary  Kilian  adopted  measures,  which  seemed  to  him 
best  calculated  to  carry  out  his  designs  for  the  conversion  of  that  nation. 


CHAPTER     II. 

THE  HOLY  MISSIONARIES  PREACH  WITH  GREAT  EFFECT  AT  WURTZBURG— DUKE 
GOSBERT'S  CONVERSION — SAINTS  KILIAN,  COLMAN  AND  TOTNAN  JOURNEY  TO  ROME 
—FAVOURABLY  RECEIVED  BV  POPE  CONAN —COMMISSIONED  TO  PREACH  THE  GOSPEL 
IN  FRANCONIA — GEILANE,  THE  WIFE  OF  GOSBERT,  PLANS  THEIR  DEATH— MARTYR- 
DOM OF  THE  SAINTS— REMARKABLE  VISITATIONS  OF  GOD  ON  ALL  THOSE  WHO  WERE 
INSTRUMENTAL  IN  IT — HONOURS  AFTERWARDS  PAID  TO  THEIR  MEMORY — THEIR 
RELICS— MEMORIALS  OF  THE  MARTYRS  IN  GERMANY  AND  IN  IRELAND,  AND  IN 
OTHER  COUNTRIES — THEIR  FESTIVALS— CONCLUSION. 

The  missionaries  directed  their  course  towards  Wurtzburg,  then  ruled  over  by 
Duke  Gosbertus.  Although  a  Pagan,  he  had  a  mind  gifted  with  superior  intel- 
ligence. It  is  stated^  that  he  had  a  great  veneration  for  Diana,  who  was  the 
goddess  he  chiefly  worshipped.  Meantime,  the  zealous  missionaries  had 
applied  themselves  to  the  study  of  a  strange  language ;  and  such  were  the 
graces  granted  to  them  by  the  Almighty,  that  in  a  short  time,  not  only  did 
they  learn  it  very  perfectly,  but  they  were  able  to  speak  it  with  fluency.  Here 
they  began  to  proclaim  in  a  public  manner,  the  great  mission  on  which  they 
were  sent,  and  to  carry  out  the  objects  for  which  they  had  cheerfully  aban- 
doned their  native  country,  already  subdued  to  that  Faith  its  first  great 
Apostle  St.  Patrick  had  announced.  The  gratitude  of  a  people,  rescued  from 
pagan  darkness  and  idolatry,  had  excited  in  the  minds  of  those  most  devoted 
servants  of  God  an  earnest  desire  to  bestow  upon  other  nations — now  sunk 
in  the  same  dismal  shades — that  gift  which  should  profit  more  than  all  other 
advantages  a  nation  might  enjoy.  Such  were  the  feelings,  and  such  the  pur- 
poses, by  which  their  present  course  had  been  directed.  After  these  declara- 
tions, they  began  to  explain  the  nature  and  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion, 
contrasting  it  in  the  most  favourable  light  with  pagan  errors,  and  showing  the 
debasing  influence  of  these  latter  over  men's  minds  and  passions.     The 


Conversations  Lexicon,"  vol.  vii.,  p.  128.  tern,  quern  RabanusinMartyrologiojudicem, 

*5  Like  many  of  the  kings  and  chiefs  of  the  Sigcbertus  principem  Wirtziburgensium  vo- 

micklle  ages,  but  for  the  Acts  of  the  Saints,  cat." — "Annates     Ordinis    S.    Benedict  i," 

Gosbert  and    his  wife  Geilana  should  dis-  tomus  i.,  lib.  xvii.,  num.  lxviii.,  p.  587. 

appear  from  history.  88  Serrarius  has  given  a  very  learned  I  )is- 

&  So  is  he  called,  in  the  Martyrology  of  quisition  on  the  idolatrous  worship,   which 

Notker.  then  prevailed  in  Franconia,  in  his  notes  to 

8?  Mabillon    states  "  Gosbertum  regionis  the  Life  of  St.  Kilian.    Notatio  14. 

ducem,  Iletani  semoris  filium,  Ruodis  nepo-  CHAPTER  II. — '  This  is  not  stated,  in  the 


JUly  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  129 


novelty  of  their  doctrines,  combined  with  the  learning,  eloquence  and  per- 
suasiveness of  their  preachers,  attracted  immense  crowds  of  persons  to  hear 
them.  These  listened  with  great  respect,  and  felt  very  anxious  to  have  a 
repetition  of  arguments  and  explanations  offered,  by  their  newly  arrived 
Apostles. 

The  report  of  Kilian's  eloquence  no  sooner  reached  the  ears  of  Prince 
Gozbert,  than  he  hastened  to  increase  and  personally  to  influence  the  number 
of  auditors.  He  procured  an  immediate  interview  with  the  holy  Bishop. 
The  latter  improved  the  occasion,  by  laying  before  him  those  arguments 
establishing  the  great  truths  of  Christianity.  He  dwelt  on  the  nature  and 
attributes  of  God ;  on  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity ;  and  on  the  general 
plan  of  salvation,  in  which  Christ  took  upon  Himself  our  human  nature,  and 
suffered  on  the  cross  at  the  hands  of  Jews.  This  movement  on  Gosbert's 
part — in  the  beginning,  perhaps,  the  result  of  mere  curiosity — proved  an 
occasion  for  opening  the  king's  eyes  to  the  light  of  Faith.  The  first  inter- 
view led  to  continued  and  more  prolonged  conferences,  concerning  religious 
subjects. 

After  receiving  all  necessary  explanations  and  instructions,  this  Prince 
conceived  a  most  exalted  idea  of  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  saint.  He 
admired,  too,  that  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  which  could  thus  impel  men  to  aban- 
don friends,  home  and  native  country,  to  encounter  in  its  propagation  those 
perils  of  various  kinds,  to  which  they  had  necessarily  been  exposed.  Gosbert 
encouraged  the  missionaries  to  labour  anew  in  a  field,  which  then  afforded 
such  happy  expectations  and  results.  He  then  made  a  public  profession  of 
the  true  Faith.  He  sought  and  obtained  the  sacrament  of  regeneration,  at 
the  instance  of  St.  Kilian.  He  is  said  to  have  been  baptized,  with  many 
others,  on  the  day  previous  to  that  of  our  Lord's  Resurrection,1  and  which 
corresponded  with  Holy  Saturday. 

The  example  given  by  the  Prince  induced  numbers  to  seek  the  baptismal 
font.  Christianity  soon  began  to  spread  among  the  people.  In  less  than 
two  years  after  this  event,  idolatry  had  altogether  disappeared  from  Wurtz- 
burg  city,  and  from  its  dependent  territories,  while  the  Christian  religion  was 
thus  proudly  established,  instead  of  the  former  Gentile  superstitions.  After 
making  himself  acquainted  with  the  wants  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  neces- 
sities of  their  condition,  St.  Kilian  then  undertook  a  journey  to  Rome.  He 
resolved  to  seek  the  Pontifical  sanction,  for  opening  there  his  new  mission.2 
Colman  and  Totnam  were  his  companions  on  the  way.  They  arrived  at 
Rome,  a.d.  686,  according  to  the  most  probable  accounts.  On  their  arrival 
there,  they  found  the  holy  See  in  possession  of  Pope  John  V.'s  successor, 
who  was  named  Conon.3  Kilian  was  examined  by  the  Pontiff,  regarding  his 
religious  profession  and  doctrine.*  However,  there  appears  to  be  no  reason 
for  supposing,  that  the  Pope  had  any  grounds  for  suspecting  his  orthodoxy.s 
Those  strangers  were  graciously  received  by  the  Pope.      St.   Kilian  revealed 

First  Life  of  St.  Kilian,  and  Serrarius  ap-  Abbatis,  Scotorum  Ratisbonse,  p.  473. 

pears  to  have  wasted  his  researches,  in  try-  3  «  yn  eletto  Pontefice  a  '21  Ottobre  del 

ing   to   ascertain    why  this  day  had   been  686." — De    Novaes'    "  Storia    de    Sommi 

chosen.     See  Art.  15,  in  his  annotations  on  Pontefici,"  tomo  secondo,  An.  686. 

our  saint's  Acts.  *  Probably,   to  discover  whether  or  not, 

3  The  Abbot  Thadaeus  seems  to  imply,  that  he  had  been  infected  with  any  leaven   of 

this  resolve  had  been  formed  in  Flanders  "ubi  Pelagian  heresy,  and  which  had  prevailed  to 

per  Angelicam  visionem  revelatum  fuit  bea-  some  extent    among  people  inhabiting  the 

tissimo    Kiliano,    ut   per   Alemaniam    iter  British  Isles. 

dirigeret  ^  versus  Romam  ;  et    sic   pervenit  s  Such  is  the  opinion  of  Father  Soller,  in 

Romam." — Canisius,  "  Antiquae  Lectiones,"  treating    about    this  relation   found   in  his 

tomus  iv.     Fragmentum  Chronicon  Thadaei  Acts. 

Vol.  VII.— No.  3.  2 


130  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


his  projects  and  purposes,  for  approval  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  Being 
satisfied  on  the  score  of  his  orthodoxy,  this  Pope  is  said  to  have  created  him 
a  regionary  Bishop,  but  without  assigning  him  to  any  fixed  See.  He  con- 
ferred upon  St.  Kilian,  however,  full  powers  for  regulating  all  religious  obser- 
vances, and  in  such  a  manner,  as  rendered  his  authority  wholly  independent 
of  any  other  episcopal  jurisdiction,  saving  only  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
the  Roman  Church,  and  that  obedience  he  owed  its  Chief.  The  saint  like- 
wise obtained  permission  to  preach  with  apostolic  authority.  It  has  been 
stated,6  that  St.  Kilian  served  St.  Peter's  church  for  some  years,  which  were 
spent  in  the  Eternal  City,  and  that  he  was  then  appointed  Bishop  of  Herbi- 
polis,7  in  Franconia.  However  this  may  be,  for  that  country  he  took  his 
departure  from  Rome,  resolving  to  devote  himself  with  apostolic  abandon- 
ment, to  cares  and  labours,  inseparably  connected  with  his  new  mission. 
Colman  and  Totnan  bore  St.  Kilian  company,  on  his  return  to  Germany.  It 
is  said,  that  they  left  Columbanus  8  in  Italy,  when  he  had  parted  from  Gallus,9 
who  was  prostrate  from  the  effects  of  a  fever  in  Germany.10  But,  as  this 
statement  presents  an  anachronism,  perhaps  the  better  way  to  treat  it  should 
be  to  consider,  that  for  the  founder  of  Bobbio  we  should  substitute  his  place, 
which  was  among  the  Apennines,  and  on  the  direct  route  from  Rome  to  their 
German  destination.  In  his  travels,  St.  Kilian  is  believed  to  have  met  St. 
Fiacre  1X — who  is  said  formerly  to  have  been  a  servant  to  his  father — but 
these  holy  men  were  not  allowed  the  opportunity  of  a  very  prolonged  inter- 
view."    Hurried  time  obliged  each  to  hasten  in  different  directions. 

A  usage,  similar  to  that  existing  among  the  Jews,  had  been  commonly  prac- 
tised by  the  people  of  Wurtzburg  ;  and,  it  was  exemplified  in  Prince  Gosbert's 
own  condition.  He  had  taken  to  wife  the  widow  of  his  own  brother.  Her  name 
was  Geilana — sometimes  called  Geilane,  and  Geila.^  The  prince  entertained 
the  strongest  sentiments  of  love  and  attachment  towards  his  consort;  but, 
for  some  time,  Kilian  thought  it  imprudent  to  disturb  the  conscience  of  his 
convert,  who  still  remained  in  good  faith  regarding  the  lawfulness  of  his  mar- 
riage. Its  validity,  moreover,  now  came  into  question.1*  It  soon  was  St. 
Kilian's  duty,  to  explain  the  church  discipline  on  this  point.  Having  first 
grounded  his  new  convert  in  the  doctrines  and  faith,  he  had  embraced ; 
Kilian  then  endeavoured  to  explain  to  this  prince,  the  false  and  objectionable 
nature  of  that  connection,  formed  with  his  female  companion.  This  he  did, 
but  in  the  most  gentle  and  persuasive  manner ;  for,  he  knew,  that  the  most 
tender  and  sensitive  natural  feelings  of  Gosbert  must  be  stirred.  Yet  was  it 
necessary,  to  teach  him  the  true  Christian  doctrine  and  practice  for  his  correc- 
tion. When  the  matter  was  first  proposed  to  him,  the  king  felt  a  great 
repugnance  to  the  idea  of  separation  ;  but,  being  assured,  it  had  become  a 
matter  of  necessity,  if  he  wished  to  live  in  a  manner  becoming  his  profession, 
all  difficulties  seemed  to  remove  from  his  mind,  and  Gozbert  consented  to 
the  divorce.  He  signified  this  assent,  but  with  the  Christian's  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice.  js     This  determination  of  the  king  soon  came  to  the  knowledge  of 

6  By  Molanus.  St.  Kilian,  an  Irishman  and  a  contemporary. 

7  The  former  name  for  Wurtzburgh.  See  Rev.    Alban    Butler's   "Lives   of    the 

8  His  festival  occurs,  at  the  2ist  of  Novem-  Fathers,  Martyrs  and  other  principal  Saints," 
ber.     He  died  a.d.  615.  vol.  viii.,  August  xxx. 

9  His  feast  is  held,  on  the  16th  of  October.  ,3  See  Mabillon's  "Annales  Ordinis  S. 
He  died  before  the  middle  of  the  seventh  Benedict!,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  xvii.,  num.  lxviii., 
century.  p.  587. 

10  According  to  the  Second  Life.  M  Serrarius  has  a  long  Disquisition  on  this 
"  His  festival  was  held  on  the  30th  of       marriage  in  his  Life  of  St.  Kilian,  Art.  16, 

August,  and  he  died  about  A.D.  670.  17,  18. 

ld  This  account  refers,  however,  to  another  ,s  His  words  are  thus  reported  :  "  Audivi 


July[8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  131 


Geilane.  She  was  not  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  this  arrangement,  however, 
without  putting  into  practice  all  the  artifices  of  a  woman,  whose  worldly 
interests  and  conscientious  scruples  were  by  no  means  violently  opposed.  Her 
arguments  and  artifices,  notwithstanding,  were  of  little  avail,  as  the  Prince's 
stern  resolutions  were  not  then  to  be  overcome.16  Hereupon,  she  burned  with 
an  insatiable  fury,  against  the  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  she  resolved  upon 
seizing  the  first  occasion  for  effecting  a  deadly  revenge.  This  opportunity 
was  soon  presented. 

The  Prince  being  called  away  on  a  military  expedition,  in  the  year  689, 
his  wicked  consort  found  hardened  assassins,1?  who  were  hired  to  execute  her 
scheme  of  vengeance.  These  abandoned  wretches  acted  with  too  much  fide- 
lity to  her  instructions.  Although  St.  Kilian  and  his  companions  are  said  to 
havehad  a  miraculous  warning,18  concerning  this  design  against  their  lives;  they 
did  not  think  of  saving  themselves  by  flight,  or  even  of  seeking  a  protection, 
which  the  ruler  and  people  of  Wurtzburg  would  be  willing  to  afford.  St. 
Kilian  exhorted  his  companions  to  constancy,  assuring  them  that  the  soul  at 
least  would  prove  invulnerable,  to  any  assaults  of  their  temporal  enemies. 
The  holy  missionaries  applied  themselves  to  making  the  best  preparations 
possible,  by  prayer  and  fasting,  while  anticipating  their  coming  danger.  On 
the  8th  day  of  July — according  to  some  writers,  a.d.  688, j9  according  to 
others  a.d.  689 2° — whilst  St.  Kilian  and  his  companions,  ColmanandTotnan 
— some  writers  adding  others  to  the  number — were  together  in  the  same 
apartment,  their  assassins  entered  with  drawn  swords.  Their  intentions 
were  at  once  apparent,  from  a  stern  determination,  manifested  in  the  demoni- 
acal expression  of  their  countenances.  St.  Kilian  offered  himself  first  to  the 
executioners'  strokes,  and  he  was  instantly  laid  lifeless  at  their  feet.  His 
companions,  who  were  present,  fell  in  like  manner,  but  only  to  arise  with 
greater  glory  in  a  world  beyond  the  grave.31  According  to  the  First  Life  of 
St.  Kilian,  it  is  said,  they  were  beheaded.  To  remove  all  traces  manifesting 
this  deed  of  butchery,  the  martyrs'  bodies  were  removed,  under  cover  of  the 
night,  and  the  corpses  were  interred  in  the  most  private  manner.  The  cross, 
the  book  of  the  Gospels,  with  other  books  and  movables,  which  belonged  to 
them,  were  thrown  into  the  same  grave.23 

However,  a  religious  woman,  Burgunda  by  name,23  had  a  cell  near  that 
oratory,  in  which  the  holy  Martyrs  were  accustomed  to  pray ;  and,  during 


pater,  te  docente,  quia  Dominus  Jesus  monet,  the  "carnifices  "  are  put  in  the  plural  num- 

nihil  preferendum  suo  amori,   non  patrem,  ber. 

non   matrem,   non   filios,   non    uxorem,  et  l8  This  is  not  mentioned  in  the  First  Life, 

idcirco  quamvis  unice  diligam  junctam  mini  but  it  is  given  in  a  more  detailed  manner  in 

uxorem,  propono   tamen  divinum  amorem.  the    Second    Life,    than    here     presented. 

Sed  non  adest  mihi  otium  inquirendi  qualiter  Father  Soller  suspects  it  to  be  an  interpola- 

eam  dimittam,    quia   contra  hostes  nostrse  tion. 

reipublicse  festino,  cum  autem  fuero  reversus,  '«  Thus  :  "  Essi  ricevettero  la  palma  del 

inventa  opportunitate  dimittendi,   seperabor  martino  nell'  anno 688." — Moroni's  Diziona- 

ab  ilia." — Messingham's  ".  Florilegium  In-  rio  di  Erudizione  Storico-Ecclesiastica,  vol. 

sulae  Sanctorum,"  Vita  S.  Kiliani,  p.  321.  xiv.,  Art.  Colomano. 

16  It  seems  rather  inexplicable,  that   St.  20   See    Baronius'    "Annates    Ecclesias- 
Kiliandidnot   seek  a  dispensation,   in  this  tici." 

peculiar  case,  from   the   Sovereign    Pontiff,  2I  According  to  local   tradition — affirmed 

who  had  power,  and  most  probably  the  in-  also  in  an  epitaph  composed  for  the  Martyrs 

clination,    to  exercise  it  for  what  seems  to  — the  year  of  their  l'assion  was  689.    Some 

have  been  very  sufficient  reason.  writers,    such   as   Werner,     have    placed  it 

17  In  the  First  Life  only  one  assassin  is  at  A.D.  694,  while  others,  with  Sigibert,  have 
thus  mentioned,  "  accessit  lictor  ad  eos,  ense  it  so  late  as  A.D.  697. 

acuto  quasi  prseparatus  ad  jugulandos   Dei  22  Serrarius,  as  usual,  has  a  disquisition  on 

amicos,"  &c.     In  most  of  the  other  Lives,  the  books  that  had  been  buried,  in  his  edi- 


132  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


her  vigils,  she  seems  to  have  witnessed  the  murderers  proceeding  to  engage 
in  their  nefarious  project.  Her  curiosity  and  suspicions  were  the  more 
awakened  on  their  return,  so  that  she  went  to  the  spot  where  the  martyrdom 
took  place.  There,  she  only  found  their  blood,  in  which  she  steeped  a  linen 
cloth,  and  this  she  buried  in  that  place,  where  she  knew  the  bodies  to  have  been 
covered  over  with  earth.2*  Still,  Burgunda  resolved  on  keeping  it  a  secret, 
lest  the  wicked  Geilane  should  remove  them  to  any  other  spot,  and  for 
greater  concealment.  That  holy  woman  continued  to  frequent,  but  by  stealth, 
that  place  where  the  bodies  of  the  holy  martyrs  had  been  committed  to  the 
earth,  and  there  she  prayed  beside  their  remains.  In  order  to  remove  all 
suspicion  calculated  to  reveal  their  tragical  end,  that  wicked  woman,  who  was 
the  principal  author  of  their  murder,  caused  a  report  to  be  industriously 
circulated  throughout  the  city,  that  St.  Kilian  and  his  companions  had  left 
it  secretly,  and  that  it  was  impossible  to  discover,  whither  they  had  retired,  or 
for  what  purpose.  Meantime,  to  remove  every  trace  which  might  serve  to  reveal 
the  spot  where  their  remains  had  been  deposited,  Geilane  conceived  the 
idea  of  forming  a  frame-work  of  planks  over  their  grave,  and  on  these  she 
caused  a  stable  to  be  built  for  horses.2*  That  place  of  sepulture  might  have 
remained  unknown  to  all  persons,  had  not  Burgunda — when  death  was  about 
to  remove  her  from  this  life — revealed  it  to  some  faithful  companions  who 
surrounded  her. 

Shortly  after  the  occurrence  of  their  martyrdom,  Gozbert  himself  returned 
to  Wurtzburg,  and  he  was  told,  that  no  trace  of  the  Christian  missionaries  was 
to  be  found.  Being  astonished  at  their  mysterious  departure,  he  caused  instant 
enquiries,  and  a  search  to  be  made  throughout  the  whole  province,  to  dis- 
cover the  place  of  their  retreat.  The  fraudful  Geilane  at  last  persuaded  her 
husband,  that  he  should  little  concern  himself  about  such  migratory,  worth- 
less and  unceremonious  visitors,  so  that  he  soon  became  indifferent  on  the 
matter,  and  as  we  may  well  imagine  his  scruples  on  the  score  of  his  marriage 
were  soon  removed.  When  those  matters  as  related  by  degrees  faded  from 
popular  recollection,  still  the  crime  of  that  murder  though  hidden  became 
revealed,  and  in  a  most  miraculous  manner.  Both  of  those  wretches,  who 
had  perpetrated  that  barbarous  deed,  were  at  length  discovered,  and  through 
a  manifest  judgment  of  Heaven.  In  a  very  remarkable  way,  Divine  justice 
was  soon  visited  upon  them.  One  of  the  murderers  put  an  end  to  his  own 
existence  by  the  sword,  while  he  cried  out :  "  O  Kilian,  you  bitterly  persecute 
me,  since  fire  consumes  me ;  what  I  have  done,  I  cannot  conceal  ;  I  see  the 
sword,  stained  with  your  blood,  now  about  to  slay  myself."  The  horrors  of 
a  guilty  conscience  crowded  the  mind  of  his  fellow  assassin  with  fearful 
images,  both  by  day  and  night ;  and,  in  fine,  these  tormented  him,  in  such  a 
manner,  that  every  glimpse  ot  reason  was  extinguished,  and  he  became  a 
raving  maniac.     He  ran  publicly  through  the  streets,  confessing  the  deed  he 


tion  of  St.  Kilian's  Life,  Art.  19.  ibi  stabulala  super  sepulcra  Martyrum,  nee 

23  The  account  of  this  holy  woman's  inter-  stercora     nee     urinam    jacerent     honorem 

erence    differs    greatly   in    the    First  and  Martyribus  exhibentia,  ut  quod  de  Capite 

Second  Lives  of  St.  Kilian.  1'ropheta  vaticinatus  est,  hoc  in  eis  membris 

2*  Nothing  of  this  regarding  Burgunda,  or  reperietur.     Cognovit,  inquiens,  bos  posses- 

what  follows,  is  to  be  found  in  the  First  Liie,  sorum  suum,  et  asinus  praesepe  Domini  sui ; 

which  makes  it  be  suspected  as  an  interpola-  Israel  non  cognovit." 

tion  in  the  Life  attributed  to  Egilward.  26  Some  of  these  particulars  are  not  con- 
25  What  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  First  tained  in  an  ancient  Life  of  St.  Kilian,  pub- 
Life  has  been  here  introduced  into  the  lished  by  Surius,  Serrarius,  Canisius,  and 
Second,  and  it  was  most  probably  only  a  Mcssingham,  written,  it  is  supposed,  by 
popular  legend.  "  Ferunt  tamen  ab  his,  qui  Egilwaid,  and  found,  also,  in  Mabillon  and 
fuere,  posteris  rclatum,  quod  animalia  the  Bollandists, 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  133 


had  committed,  tearing  himself  in  a  shocking  manner,  and  crying  out,  that 
St.  Kilian  had  tortured  him  with  fire.  He  was  instantly  arrested,  and  brought 
before  the  Prince,  who  began  to  deliberate  whether  or  not  he  was  a  fit  subject 
for  the  punishment  his  crime  seemed  to  deserve.  One  of  Gosbert's  courtiers, 
however,  who  was  in  favour  with  Geilane,  counselled  her  husband  to  leave  the 
chastisement  of  this  wretch  to  the  Christians'  God.  To  this  advice  the  Prince 
inclined.  That  courtier  had  in  view  an  idea  of  teaching  the  Prince  to  doubt 
the  miraculous  dispensation  of  Providence,  and  to  incline  once  more  to  the 
worship  of  the  goddess  Diana.  To  the  old  practice  of  paganism  the  courtier 
was  secretly  inclined,  although  he  had  professed  Christianity,  to  gain  Goz- 
bert's  confidence.26  Gozbert  unhappily  yielded  to  his  worst  persuasions. 
The  unhappy  Prince  again  returned  to  the  superstitions  and  idolatrous  prac- 
tices of  his  pagan  ancestors.  The  vengeance  of  Heaven  was  at  length  vindi- 
cated, by  the  unhappy  end  of  the  wicked  Geilane.  An  evil  spirit  took 
possession  of  her,  and  continued  to  torment  her  so  long  as  life  lasted.  She 
was  often  heard  exclaiming :  "lam  justly  tormented,  because  I  have  mur- 
dered innocent  men;  I  am  rightly  tortured,  because  I  prepared  tortures  for 
them.  O  Kilian,  you  persecute  me  fiercely,  O  Kolman,  you  add  fire,  O 
Totnan,  you  supply  the  flames.  It  is  enough  for  you  to  have  conquered; 
too  heavily  are  your  injuries  avenged.  O  Kilian,  you  are  so  called  from  the 
chalice,2?  but  a  very  bitter  cup  you  pour  out  for  me."  Then  she  raged  to  that 
degree,  that  her  attendants  could  scarce  restrain  her.  The  people  of  the  Eastern 
Franks  afterwards  drove  her  son  Hetnan  from  the  kingdom.  In  a  short  time 
after  St.  Kilian's  death,  Gosbert  suffered  the  punishment  of  having  aban- 
doned the  true  and  living  God.  This  prince  is  said  to  have  been  killed  by 
his  own  servant.28  However,  there  seems  to  be  no  just  warrant  for  this  latter 
statement. 29  Nay  more ;  all  Gosbert's  kindred  were  displaced  from  any 
positions  of  trust  or  dignity  in  that  province,  while  his  whole  race  was  utterly 
exterminated. 

As  a  zealous  labourer  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  in  Eastern  Franconia, 
before  or  in  a.d.  742,3°  St.  Burchard  31  had  been  nominated  first  Bishop  of 
Wurtzburg,32  which  city  had  been  erected  into  an  espiscopal  See,  by  St. 
Boniface,  Archbishop  of  Mayence ;  and,  as  has  been  stated,  in  consequence 
of  his  learning  about  the  extraordinary  miracle  already  related.33  A  story  is 
told,3*  which  has  been  accepted  for  the  narrative  relative  to  finding  the 
remains  of  those  holy  martyrs.     When  the  venerable  virgin  St.  Gertrude,  35 


27  This  seems  belonging  to  an  interpolated  Life,  given  by  Canisius,  and  which  Mabillon 
passage  in  the  old  Life  by  Egilward  ;  and  appears  to  have  followed. 

although  the  Latin  runs,    "  a  calice  Kiliane  3°  This  year  was  held  the  German  Council, 

diceris,"  it   is  quite  an  incorrect  derivation  in  which  as  Mabillon  shows,  both  Burchard 

for  St.  Kilian's  name.     Almost  equally  in-  and  Willibald  presided  as  bishops. 

correct  are  many  of  the  attempts  of  commen-  3l  His  feast  is   held,  on  the  i4thofOcto- 

tators  on  the  Acts  of  these  Martyrs,  to  give  ber. 

the  true  derivation.  3*  To  this  dignity  he  was  appointed  by 

28  "All  the  actors  in  this  tragedy,"  says  Pope  Zachary,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  Epis- 
the  Protestant  historian  Milner,  "  Gosbert  ties  relative  to  St.  Boniface,  Epist.  132, 
among  the  rest,   came  to  an  unhappy  end  ;  133. 

and  there  is  no  doubt,  but  that  in  this  case,  3i  St.  Boniface  is  said  thus  to  have  pro- 
as well  as  many  others,  the  blood  of  the  phesied  :  "Felix  es  Wirzpurch,  et  inter 
martyrs  became  the  seed  of  the  church.  Germanise  non  ignobilis  urbes  ;  et  quamvis 
Numbers  of  the  eastern  Franks  had  em-  his  temporibus  quarumdum  civitatum  pos- 
braced  Christianity,  and  sealed  the  ministry  trema  habearis,  tamen  exornata  corporibus 
of  Kilian." — "History  of  the  Church  of  Martyrum,  inferior  non  habeberis." — Mabil- 
Christ,"  vol.  i.,  century  vii.,  chap,  ii.,  Ion's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Ordinis  S.  Bene- 
p.  533.  dicti,"  ssec.  iii.,  pars,  i.,  p.  702 

29  Yet  it  is  in  the  edition  of  our  saint's  **  In  the  Second  Life  of  St.  Kilian. 


i34  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


who  was  daughter  to  Pepin,  King  of  the  Franks,  sought  to  avoid  the  marriage 
designed  for  her,  she  is  said  to  have  travelled  into  Franconia,  where  she 
founded  a  monastery  in  honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  at  a  place  called  Carle- 
bnrg.  There,  she  caused  two  pious  men  who  accompanied  her  to  receive 
Holy  Orders.  Those  were  named  Atalongus,  who  became  a  priest,  and 
Bernard,  who  became  a  deacon.  Afterwards,  she  returned  to  her  own  country, 
where  she  became  abbess  over  a  nunnery  founded  at  Nivelle,  in  Brabant. 
Now,  it  so  happened,  that  Atalongus  36  was  a  man  well  read  in  scholastic 
learning,  and  distinguished  for  his  solid  virtues.  But,  he  knew  scarcely  any- 
thing about  St.  Kilian  and  his  companions.  However,  as  he  taught  young  boys 
their  lessons,  while  standing  before  him  in  the  class  one  day,  all  those  at  once 
cried  out,  as  if  moved  by  some  Divine  impulse  :  "  Kilian  makes  signs,  and 
he  should  be  taken  from  that  place,  where  he  has  been  ignominiously  buried." 
These  exclamations  astonished  the  priest,  but  he  threatened  the  pupils  with 
stripes  for  raising  such  a  foolish  clamour.  However,  when  night  came,  and 
when  he  had  taken  some  refreshment,  the  priest  retired  to  rest,  and  he  had 
dreams  of  an  extraordinary  character.  In  the  morning  when  he  awoke,  a  vision 
of  St.  Kilian,  surrounded  with  a  dazzling  light,  was  presented  to  his  view. 
The  holy  Martyr  then  spoke  these  words :  "  Unless  you  believe,  you  shall 
not  see  ;  which  observations  our  Lord  Himself  prophetically  addressed  to 
the  Jews;  unless  you  believe,  you  cannot  understand/'  When  the  sun  began 
to  rise  afterwards,  no  sight  of  it  remained  for  Atalongus,  and  when  he  learned 
from  a  servant,  that  the  day  was  already  advanced,  he  recollected  how  he  had 
presumed  to  chide  his  scholars  for  their  ready  faith,  and  he  burst  into  tears. 
Whereupon,  he  began  to  enquire  from  the  people  of  that  place  about  St. 
Kilian,  whose  praises  had  been  already  proclaimed  by  his  youthful  charge. 
One  of  those  persons  who  lived  there,  and  a  rustic,  informed  him,  that  Kilian 
had  come  from  a  far  distant  country,  that  he  had  spread  the  Christian  reli- 
gion throughout  their  province,  that  he  was  destroyed  through  the  perfidy  of 
a  woman,  unknown  to  the  people,  and  that  his  memory  was  even  then  fading 
from  their  traditions.  Wherefore,  when  the  priest  heard  this  account,  he 
asked  to  be  brought  near  the  reputed  place  where  the  Martyrs'  bodies  lay, 
and  there  he  most  earnesty  prayed,  that  through  their  intercession,  the  Lord 
might  graciously  pardon  his  want  of  discretion  and  the  rashness  of  his  words, 
so  that  his  sight  might  be  restored.  It  pleased  the  Almighty,  favourably  to 
hear  his  prayers;  and  with  great  joy,  Atalongus  proclaimed  the  wonderful 
miracle  wrought  in  his  regard.  This  announcement  soon  spread  abroad,  and 
the  Martyrs'  fame  was  greatly  magnified. 

The  bodies  of  St.  Kilian  and  of  his  companions  were  suffered  to  remain 
in  the  place  of  their  first  sepulture,  until  about  the  year  746.37  Some  writers  have 
a  later  date,  while  others  bring  it  down  to  a.d.  752.  However,  it  is  doubtful 
if  St.  Burchard  was  then  living. 38  It  has  been  stated,3?  that  Pope  Zacharyhad 
canonized  St.  Kilian ;  but,  we  must  recollect  that  no  form  of  pontifical 
canonization   had  been   instituted,  until  several  subsequent  centuries  had 


35  Her  feast  occurs,  at  the  17th  of  March,  of  their  concealment. 

and  she  has  another  festival  at  the  8th  of  37  According  to  Sigibert's  Chronicle. 

May,  in  the  Belgian  Martyrologies.  She  was  38  See  the  observation*  of  Father  Soller, 

born  in  626,  and  she  departed  this  life  a.d.  in  reference  to  this  chronology,  in  "  Acta 

659.  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii   viii.       De  S. 

36  This  story  about  Atalongus  does  not  Kiliano  Epis.  et  Martyre,  Colomano  seu 
appear  in  the  First  Life,  and  it  seems  incon-  Colonato  et  Totnano  ejus  sociis,  Herbipoli  in 
sistent  with  the  account  therein  contained,  Franconia.  Commentarius  Praevius,  sect,  iii., 
that   Btirgunda  had  already  discovered  the  pp.  603  to  605. 

relics,  and  that  she  made  known  the  place  39  By  Luke  Castellan. 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  135 


elapsed.  Through  the  instrumentality  of  St.  Boniface  and  by  order  of  Pope 
Zachary/0  a  solemn  Translation  of  the  remains  to  a  shrine,  at  Mount  Saint 
Mary,  near  Wurtzburg,  took  place.  This  is  generally  supposed  to  have 
happened,  on  the  8th  day  of  February.  On  this  date,  at  least,  a  festival  has 
been  instituted,  in  commemoration  of  those  holy  martyrs.  It  is  said  to  have 
occurred,  likewise,  during  the  reign  of  Pipping1  the  first  KingofFranconia.*2 
The  holy  Bishop  Burchard  suspected,  that  as  the  devoted  martyrs  had  been 
secretly  murdered,  and  as  the  hurried  concealment  of  their  remains  was  an 
object  kept  in  view  by  all  the  parties  concerned  in  the  murder,  their  bodies 
could  not  have  been  deeply  buried  in  the  earth.  Accordingly,  he  ordered  a 
public  fast,  which  was  kept  by  the  clergy  and  people,  so  that  the  Almighty 
Discoverer  of  hidden  things  might  deign  to  reveal  his  secrets  to  the  faithful, 
who  desired  to  honour  him  through  his  saints. 43  He  announced  a  day  for 
the  Elevation,  when  a  great  multitude  of  people  flocked  into  Wurtzburg, 
some  through  a  hope  of  witnessing  great  miracles,  some  through  a  desire  to 
be  healed  from  corporal  diseases,  and  all  through  religious  motives.  The  holy 
Bishop  himself  went  to  the  traditional  place  of  sepulture.  He  brought  with 
him  a  spade  or  mattock,  and  began  to  open  the  earth.  Under  St.  Burchard's 
auspices,  a  search  was  instituted  by  numbers  of  willing  labourerers  who 
were  present,  for  the  recovery  of  those  dead  bodies.  They  were  at  length 
found,  and  in  a  shallow  grave.  The  martyrs'  flesh  was  reduced  to  dust. 
However,  their  bones,  and  those  sacred  articles  buried  with  them,  were  dis- 
covered, in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  What  seemed  most  wonderful  was 
a  fragrant  odour  that  became  diffused  around  ;  and  the  people  assembled  in 
ecstatic  delight  sought  to  touch  the  sacred  relics,  or  bear  them  in  some  way, 
while  they  were  being  removed  from  their  place  of  deposition.  With  great 
delight,  and  as  if  by  unanimous  acclaim,  they  all  cried  out:  "Glory  be  to 
God  on  high,  and  on  earth  peace  be  to  men  of  good  will." 

Illustrious  miracles  were  wrought  on  the  occurrence  of  this  elevation,  as 
likewise,  on  many  subsequent  occasions.  As  it  seems,  at  this  time  a  basilica 
dedicated  to  the  holy  Mother  of  God  stood  in  Wurtzburg,  and  it  was  on  a 
very  elevated  site.  Thither,  on  a  day  appointed  for  the  purpose,  with  a  great 
concourse  of  the  clergy  and  people,  the  bishop  removed  their  sacred  relics, 
and  with  great  religious  ceremony.  St.  Burchard  and  the  clergy  kept  vigil 
over  the  martyrs,  and  he  resolved  on  that  site  to  erect  his  chief  monastery. 
However,  he  had  a  revelation,  that  owing  to  the  steepness  and  difficulty  of 
the  ascent  to  that  mount,  the  structure  which  he  began  with  wood  must  be 
abandoned.  The  removal  of  their  relics  was  only  temporary,  notwithstanding 
this  care  ;  for,  St.  Burchard  immediately  set  to  work,  and  he  commenced  the 
building  of  a  new  cathedral.  This  afterwards  was  called  Novum  Monas- 
terium,  or  the  New  Monastery.  This  church  had  been  placed  under  the 
special  invocation  of  St.  Kilian,  St.  Colman  and  St.  Totnan.  It  was  built  of 
stone  and  elegantly  fashioned.  To  it,  the  bodies  of  the  saints  were  brought, 
an  elaborate  sarcophagus  having  been  prepared,  to  receive  their  remains. 

*°  He  presided  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  *2  According  to    the  First  Acts  of  St. 

from   a.d.  741    to   752.      See   Sir  Harris  Kilian  and  his  companions. 

Nicolas'  "  Chronology  of  History,"  p.  21 1.  43  This  account  is  taken  from  Egilward's 

41  Known  as  Pepin  le  Bref,  who  on  the  "Vita  S.  Burchardi,"  lib.  ii.,  cap.  ii. 

death  of  his  father,  Charles  Martel,  a.d.  741,  *4  Now  known  as  Die  Neuminster  Kirche. 

succeeded  to  the  kingdoms  of  Neustria  and  It   fronts  on  one  of  the  principal   streets  of 

Burgundy,  afterwards  extending    his    sway  Wurtzburg,   and   it  is  surrounded  on  every 

over    Franconia   in   752.     His   death  took  side  by  houses,  over  which  however  appear 

place,  a.d.  768.     See  M.  Le  Dr.  Hoefer's  the  facade  and  dome  or  cupola,  with  a  sort 

"Nouvelle     Biographie    Generate, "    tome  of  tower  crowned  by  a  Byzantine-style  of 

xxxix.,  cols.  541  to  544.  minaret.    It  is  very  faithfully  presented  in 


136 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  8. 


That  church  «♦  is  said  to  have  been  erected  over  the  very  spot,  where  the 
relics  of  those  holy  Martyrs  had  been  so  long  entombed.  The  people  of 
Wurtzburgh  believe,  also,  that  this  was  the  exact  site,  on  which  the  castle  of 
Duke  Gosbert  formerly  stood.  The  tomb  of  the  Martyrs — very  artistically 
designed  and  of  antique  workmanship — is  surrounded  by  strong  and  wrought 
iron  railings  of  very  handsome  workmanship.  It  is  to  be  seen,  in  the  crypt 
of  what  is  interiorly  a  most  beautiful  church,  and  numbers  of  the  faithful 
daily  assemble  to  pray  before  this  tomb.*5  There,  in  former  times,  many 
miracles  are  said  to  have  been  wrought ;  nor  have  we  any  doubt,  that  the 


Die  Neuminster  Kirche,  Wurtzburg,  containing  the  Martyrs'  Tomb. 

aithful  clients  of  those  saints,  at  the  present]  day,  receive  various  spiritual 
and  temporal  benefits  through  their  intercesson.  The  city  *6  and  citizens  of 
Wurtzburg,  who  are  almost  exclusively  Catholics,  are  under  the  special  pro- 
tection of  their  Patron  Martyrs. 


the  accompanying  illustration  copied  from 
a  photograph  procured  on  the  spot.  A 
drawing  of  it  by  William  F.  Wakeman  on 
the  wood  has  been  engraved  by  Mrs.  Mil- 
lard. 

«sOn  the  23rd  of  September,  1886,  the 
writer  had  the  same  privilege  and  an  oppor- 
tunity for  inspecting  this  and  other  fine 
churches  in  Wurtzburg,  during  the  course  of 
a  trip  from  Frankfort-on-the  Maine  to  Ratis- 
bon  and  Vienna. 

46  It  contains  a  Catholic  University  and 
thirty-three  Catholic  churches,  including  the 
cathedral,  with  several  other  fine  religious 
houses  and  institutes. 

4?  On  a  stone  slab,  the  following  verses 
were  inscribed  : — 

"  Annis   sexcentis   octogenisque  nove- 
nis 
Istic   Kyllenam  scimus   fontis  prope 

venam, 
Et  Colonatum,  necnon  Tothnanque 


beatum 
Ob    Salvatorem     proprium     fudisse 

cruorem. 
Hinc  fuit,  est,  et  erit  salus  illi,  qui 

pie  quaerit, 
Est  caecus,  mutus,  claudus,  sordusque 

solulus. 
Septingentesimo     quinquagesimoque 

secundo 
A  Bonifacio,  Burkardo  consociato, 
Hi  sunt  sublati,  rite  quoque  canoni- 

zati : 
Hos  pete    devote,  qui  sint  oramine 

pro  te. 
Septingentesimo  nonagesimo  quoque 

prinio 
Burkardus  moritur,   corpusque  suum 

sepelitur, 
Juxta  sanctorum  tumulum,  ceu  scribi- 

tur,  horum, 
Per   Megengaudum   successorem  re- 

verendum." 


July  8.]  LIVES  01  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  137 


An  epitaph,  in  memory  of  these  martyrs,  was  placed  over  the  sepulchral 
crypt,  to  the  west  side  of  the  church,  but  several  years  after  their  death.*? 
However,  it  does  not  appear  to  have  conveyed  to  us  the  exact  date  for  St. 
Burchard's  elevation  of  the  remains  ;  nor  is  it  correct  to  have  stated,  that  he 
procured  the  canonization  of  those  Martyrs.  It  is  even  doubtful,  if  St.  Bur- 
chard  lived  to  a.d.  752,  although  some  writers  have  it,  that  he  died  on  the 
9th  of  February,  in  that  particular  year/8  Some  of  the  Benedictine  writers  *9 
suppose  St.  Kilian  to  have  belonged  to  their  order ;  but,  this  is  altogether 
an  unwarrantable  supposition.  In  the  vestibule  of  the  chapter  of  Neuminster 
was  to  be  seen  a  Latin  inscription^0  in  verse.  This  is  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  building,  and  on  the  northern  side  of  the  crypt.  The  authorship  of  the 
inscription  has  been  contested,  some  writers  attributing  it  to  St.  Burchard,*1 
while  it  is  more  correctly  supposed  to  have  been  written,  in  comparatively 
recent  times.  It  is  interesting  to  notice,  that  in  Wurtzburg  the  figures  of 
those  saints  have  been  thus  represented  :  St.  Kilian  in  an  episcopal  dress ; 
St.  Colman  in  a  priest's  habit,  and  St.  Totnan  in  that  of  a  deacon.  It  may 
be  observed,  likewise,  that  on  an  old  seal,  dating  back  to  a.d.  1119,  St. 
Kilian  is  figured  in  an  episcopal  habit,  having  a  curiously  shaped  old  mitre 
on  his  head,  with  a  dalmatic  and  pallium  over  his  soutane,  bearing  an  Irish 
fashioned  staff  in  his  right  hand,  and  an  open  book  in  his  left.  Another  seal 
of  a.d.  1 135  presents  him  seated  on  a  throne,  with  staff  and  book,  but  with 
habiliments  somewhat  dissimilar  from  the  former  figure.52  On  the  coins  of 
Wurtzburg,  he  is  represented  as  holding  a  sword  and  a  crozier  ;S3  also,  as 
holding  a  cross,  with  a  sword  beneath  his  feet  ;5*  also,  as  holding  a  dagger 
and  sword  ;5*  also,  as  martyred  by  sword  and  spear  ;56  as  likewise,  holding 
two   swords. 57     The  holy  martyr  is  sometimes  *8 — but  incorrectly — called 

48  See  Rev.  Alban  Butler's  "  Lives  of  of  Brittany,"  book  xxiii.,  chap,  xxv.,  p. 
the  Fathers,   Martyrs,   and  other  principal       613. 

Saints,"  vol.  x.,  October  xiv.  59  This  city  was  only  erected  into  a  Bishop- 

49  Among  these  is  Trithemius,  and  even  ric,  fifty-three  years  after  his  death  ;  how- 
Mabillon,  although  expressing  it  with  a  ever,  St.  Kilian  is  the  principal  patron,  as 
doubt.  likewise  a  recognised  Apostle,  for  the  pro- 

50  It  ran  as  follows  : —  vince  of  Franconia. 

60  See    Bishop    Challoner's    "  Brittannia 

"Hi  sunt,  Herbipolis,  qui  te  docuere  Sancta,"part  ii.,  p.  25. 

magistri,  6l  See   "The  Popular  Encyclopedia;  or 

Qua  verum  colores  religione  Deum.  Conversations  Lexicon,  "vol.  vii.,  Art.  Wurtz- 

Impia  quos  tandem  jussit  Geilana  ne-  burg,  p.  128. 

cari,  6a  The  spacious  episcopal  palace  is  not  far 

Celavitque  sub  hunc  corpora  caesa  from  the  cathedral,  in  which  are  to  be  seen 

locum.  several   fine    monuments    of  the  deceased 

Ne  turpi,  sine  laude,  situ  defossa  jace-  bishops  of  Wurtzburg. 

rent  63  There  is  a  notice  of  this  Festival,  at  the 

Corpora,    Burkardus     sub   monu-  same  date,  in  the  Third   Volume  of  this 

menta  locat."  work,  Art.  vi. 

64  The  interior  presents  an  uncommonly 

51  Such  as  Henricus  Pantaleon  and  Arnold  striking  appearance,  it  being  decorated  with 
Wion.  fresco  paintings,  rich  and  in  the  most  gar- 
s''  See  the    Bollandists'   "Acta   Sancto-  geous  colouring.     Along  the  grand  nave  and 

rum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.,  Commentarius  mounted  high   on  corbels  are  numbers   of 

Praevius,  sect,  vi.,  p.  611.  beautiful  statues. 

53  See  Very  Rev.  F.  C.  Husenbeth's  6s  The  accompanying  illustration  of  the 
"Emblems  of  Saints,"  Third  edition.  cathedral  front  at  Wurtzburg  taken  from  a 
Edited  by  Augustus  J essopp,  D.D.,  p.  125.  photograph  procured  there  has  been  drawn 

54  In  Bilder  Legende.  by  William  F.   Wakeman  on  the  wood,  en- 

55  In  Die  Attribute  der  Heiligen.  graved  by  Mrs.  Millard. 

s6  In  Der  Heyligen  Leben.  M  See  "Thesaurus  Reliquiarum  Electora- 

-i  Lambrecht.  lis  Brunsvico-Launeburgicus."    Hanoverise, 

58  See   Dean   Cressy's  "Church   History       1713- 


133 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  8. 


Bishop  of  Wurtzburg  ;59  by  some  writers,  however,  it  is  thought  probable,  he 
had  been  consecrated  as  Bishop  before  he  left  Ireland.60 

A  magnificent  cathedral 
— the  building  of  which  is 
said  to  have  taken  place  in 
1042  ;61  and  which  now 
fronts  on  one  of  the  chief 
streets  in  Wurtzburg — has 
two  imposing  flanking 
towers  on  the  facade,  and 
they  are  crowned  with 
tapering  spires  to  lanthron 
finials,  which  are  again 
surmounted  with  crosses.62 
Over  the  entrance  door  of 
fine  design  are  two  grand 
rose-windows  with  a  triplet 
circularly-headed  window 
in  a  compartment  between 
them.  On  building  this 
new  cathedral,  a  shrine 
was  prepared  within  its 
walls,  for  the  reception  of 
the  holy  martyrs'  remains, 
and  to  this  they  were 
transferred  on  the  25th  of 
March. 63  The  year  when 
this  Translation  took  place 
has  not  been  discovered. 
Under  the  tabernacle  of 
the  high  altar  within  6«  are 
preserved  the  heads  of  St. 
Kilian,  St.  Colman  and 
St.  Totnan,  in  magnificent 
silver  shrines.6*  A  portion  of  the  martyrs'  relics  were  said  to  remain,  encased 
in  a  rich  shrine,  and  in  possession  of  the  Elector  of  Brunswick-Lunenburg.66 
Among  the  elegant  Epigrammatic  Latin  Poems  6?  of  Father  Bonaventure 
Baron,  there  is  one  on  St.  Kilian,  the  Irish  Martyr  ;  and,  it  pithily  describes 
the  occasion  of  his  death,  with  the  reverence  paid  to  his  memory.68 

Throughout  Germany,  but  especially  in  Franconia,  extraordinary  venera- 
tion has  been  entertained  and  manifested  in  regard  to  the  revered  Martyrs, 
Kilian,  Colman  and  Totnan.  But,  as  we  may  naturally  suppose,  Wurtzburg 
claims  to  concentrate  most  that  cultus,  which  its  good  Catholic  people  pay  to 
their  Irish  patrons.     An  ancient  illuminated  copy  in  Irish  handwriting,  of  the 


Fa9ade  of  Cathedral  Wurtzburg. 


6?  See  "  Opuscula  Prosa  et  Metro,"  Ar- 
gumento  etiam  Varia,  tomus  I.  The  dedi- 
cation of  this  work  is  dated  by  Frater  Bona- 
venture Baron,  at  Herbipolis,  6.  Nones  of 
May,  1666,  and  the  first  folio  volume  was 
published  there  in  1668.  The  second  folio 
volume  appeared  at  Lyons,  in  1669. 

68  Thus  run  these  lines  : — 

"  Pellis  idola  adytis,  Christum  Kyliane 
reponis    : 


Nee  pateris  nisi  quum  faemina  pul- 

sa  thoro  est. 
Vivis   Apostolicos  Kyliane  superstes 

honores, 
Baptista  pariter  funere  functus  obis." 

— Lib.  ii.,  n.  20,  p.  26. 

69  Among  the  Manuscripts  preserved  at 
Wurtzburg,  it  is  intituled,  Codex  Evangelio- 
rum  quo  usus  est  S.  Kilianus. 

79  See  an  admirable  article  **  Irish  Art  in 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  i39 


Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  and  of  the  Latin  Gospels  belonging  to  St.  Kilian,6^  is 
yet  preserved  in  Wurtzburg.7°  It  lias  been  described,  by  M.  Wattenbach,  an 
eminent  German  antiquary.  It  is  traditionally  believed  by  the  people,  that  it 
had  been  stained  with  the  martyrs'  blood.  Before  the  irreligious  innovations 
of  Luther  and  his  brother  reformers  in  Germany,  in  nearly  all  the  imperial 
cities  there,  churches  and  chapels  had  been  dedicated  to  those  martyrs.  Besides 
Wurtzburg,  in  Windsheim  the  principal  church^1  built  a.d.  1190,  was  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Kilian,  In  Hailbrun,  in  the  country  of  the  Suevi,  there  was  also 
a  church,  and  in  it  are  memorial  representations  of  the  saint.  In  Halle,  there 
was  a  church,  dedicated  to  him,  with  memorials.  In  the  town  of  Huxar,  and 
near  the  monastery  of  Corbei,  before  the  year  1000,  a  church  had  been  built 
and  dedicated  to  St.  Kilian;  while,  it  is  related,  at  a.d.  1088,  that  oblations 
were  made  to  its  altar,  by  certain  pious  patrons.72  Likewise,  at  Vienna, 
the  capital  city  of  Austria,  there  is  annually  a  solemn  celebration  of  the 
Feast  of  the  holy  Patrons  of  Franconia.73  The  church  of  Lambach,74  a  town  in 
Upper  Austria,  had  for  its  special  Patrons,  Saints  Kilian,  Colman  and  Tot- 
nan,  and  there  75  the  people  had  great  devotion  for  their  memory. 

Having  related  the  foregoing  Elevations  and  Translations  of  those  holy 
Martyrs'  relics,  it  is  difficult  to  find  what  honours  were  paid  to  them  in  Wurtz- 
burgh,  before  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  and  beginning  oi  the  sixteenth  century. 
Yet,  in  a  Missal,  which  is  printed  in  Teutonic  or  Gothic  characters,  we  have 
a  Mass  in  honour  of  St.  Kilian,  both  on  the  vigil  and  on  the  day  for  his  chief 
Feast.  We  have  also  an  Office^6  which  had  been  recited  in  Lambach,  with 
an  Octave.77  Its  divisions  have  been  noted  by  the  Bollandists,  and  certain 
extracts  from  it  are  reproduced  ;  but,  various  passages  prove,  that  some  inter- 
polations of  Egilward's  Acts  have  been  admitted  to  its  Lessons.  We  learn,?8 
that  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  very  special  veneration  was  given  to 
St.  Kilian,  and  to  his  companion  Martyrs,  in  the  city  of  Wurtzburg.  On  the 
eve  of  their  chief  Festival,  8th  of  July,  it  was  the  custom  there,  to  sound  the 
great  cathedral  bell  for  the  Ave  Maria  at  noon,  when  all  the  bells  in  the  city 
and  its  suburbs  gave  forth  a  sonorous  and  continuous  peal,  to  assemble  the 
clergy  and  people  for  the  First  Vespers  of  the  chief  Feast. 79  Having  finished  with 
Complin,  an  hour's  interval  was  allowed,  when  Matins  and  Lauds  were  recited 
in  the  collegiate  church  of  the  New  Monastery  for  the  following  Festival  Day. 
The  senior  Dean  of  the  cathedral  church  presided  on  the  occasion.  The 
Prince  Bishop  of  the  city  and  all  his  canons  were  present  to  chaunt  First 
Vespers  in  the  cathedral.  This  celebration  was  continued  all  the  remaining 
days  of  the  Octave;  while  the  Abbot  of  St.  Benedict's  Order  with  his  monks, 
secular  clergy  of  the  collegiate  churches  in  the  city,  and  all  the  parish  priests 

Bavaria,"  by  Miss  Stokes,  in  "  The  Journal  are  here  to  be  seen. 

of  the  Royal  Historical  and   Archaeological  7<5  It  is  intituled:  "viir.  Julii.     In  Festo 

Association   of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,    part    ii.  SS.  Kyliani  et  Sociorum  Martyrum,  Patro- 

Fourth  series,   January,    187 1,  pp.  352    to  norum  Ecclesise  Lambacensis." 

359.  77  it  extends  to  nearly  three  entire  folios  in 

71  Over  its  high  altar,  this  saint's  passion  4to,  or  to  24  pages. 

was  delineated.  ?8  The  account  in  the  text  Father  Soller 

72  This  is  stated,  by  Christian  Francis  had  from  the  learned,  most  reverend  and 
Paulinus,  in  his  Chronicle  of  Huxar,  pub-  illustrious  John  Bernard,  Bishop  of  Chryso- 
lished  at  Frankford,  a.d.  1698,  fol.  6,  7.  politanus,  suffragan  of  Wurtzburg. 

73  This  is  stated,  by  Galenius,  in  his  Ca-  79  It  is  remarkable,  that  without  the  choir, 
lendar,  on  this  day;  and,  it  may  be  found,  at  this  time,  and  for  the  ensuing  three  days, 
from  the  Offices  celebrated  at  Osnaburg  M in-  the  right  of  asylum  in  the  city  was  pro- 
den,  and  other  places.  claimed  by  the  public  herald,  for  all  who  had 

74  See  an  account  of  it  in  the  "Gazetteer  left  it,  charged  with  a  public  crime,  and  who 
of  the  world,"  vol.  viii.,  p.  634.  feared  prosecution   or  punishment  for  their 

75  A  noble  Benedictine  Abbey  and  Church  delinquencies. 


i4o  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


in  the  vicinity,  assisted.  They  generally  came  in  procession,  and  bearing 
the  reliquaries  of  saints  kept  in  their  respective  churches.  Early  on  the 
morning  of  July  8th,  the  Little  Hours  of  Prime  and  Tierce  were  publicly 
recited  in  the  cathedral.  Afterwards,  the  canons  of  the  cathedral  assisted  at 
a  First  Solemn  Mass.  This  ended,  from  seven  to  eight  o'clock,  the  Assistant 
Bishop  of  the  diocese  usually  preached  on  a  subject  appropriate  for  the 
occasion.  Afterwards,  at  eight  o'clock,  the  Prince  Bishop  and  the  clergy  in 
solemn  procession  went  from  the  cathedral  to  the  place  where  the  tombs  of 
the  martyrs  were,  in  the  collegiate  church  of  the  New  Monastery.  Thence 
they  returned  to  the  great  cathedral,  where  the  heads  of  the  Martyrs,  placed 
in  their  respective  silver  statues,  were  exposed  on  the  high  altar.  Then  the 
Prince  Bishop  commenced  the  celebration  of  a  Second  High  Mass.  In  the 
evening,  Second  Vespers  of  the  Feast  were  sung,  the  Bishop  Assistant  or  the 
Cathedral  Dean  usually  presiding.  Then  the  clergy  of  the  various  city  and 
adjoining  churches  returned  to  them,  and  bearing  back  their  respective  relics 
in  solemn  procession.  During  the  whole  octave,  and  while  the  relics  of 
Saints  Kilian,  Colman  and  Totnan  were  exposed  on  the  Cathedral  Altar,  a 
Pontifical  Mass  was  celebrated  each  morning,  by  a  Bishop,  or  by  an  Abbot, 
of  the  diocese.  On  the  day  of  the  Octave  itself,  a  grand  procession,  at  which 
all  the  cathedral  canons  were  present,  went  around  the  city.  A  singular  cus- 
tom was  observed  on  the  occasion  of  these  processions,  that  the  regular 
soldiers  and  citizens — sometimes  to  the  number  of  six  thousand — lined  the 
route,  and  presented  arms  in  honour  of  their  saintly  Patrons.  Again,  during 
that  whole  Octave,  the  most  solemn  cultus  was  observed  in  the  secular  collegi- 
ate church  8o  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  where  the  tombs  of  the  martyrs  lay. 
Also,  in  the  seminary  of  St.  Kilian,  and  in  the  church  of  the  celebrated  Hos- 
pital of  Julianus,  special  veneration  was  paid  to  the  holy  Martyrs,  whose  relics 
were  there  exposed.  Until  the  political  changes  of  the  present  century  took 
place,  doubtless  these  magnificent  celebrations  took  place  ;  but,  even  yet,  in 
the  Catholic  city  of  Wurtzburg,  the  Festival  of  its  holy  Martyrs  and  Patrons 
is  held,  with  appropriate  religious  rites  and  ceremonies. 

In  Ireland,  the  memory  of  those  holy  Martyrs  has  been  preserved  in 
churches,  chapels,  and  religious  institutes,  which  have  been  erected  in  their 
honour,  and  which  have  been  specially  dedicated  to  them.  On  an  elevated 
and  a  beautiful  situation  at  Greystones,  county  of  Wicklow,  in  the  diocese  of 
Dublin,  the  foundation  stone  of  a  chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Kilian  was  laid,  on 
the  14th  of  October,  1866,  by  the  Very  Rev.  Monsignor  Walter  Lee,  P.P.,  of 
Bray.81  It  was  designed  in  the  early  English  style  of  Gothic  architecture, 
and  it  measured  72  feet  by  22.  However,  the  growing  population  and 
requirements  of  that  fashionable  watering  place  necessitated  the  enlargement 
of  the  primitive  erection  ;  and  accordingly,  on  Sunday,  August  1st,  1886,  His 
Grace  the  Most  Rev.  William  J.  Walsh,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  visited  Grey- 
stones,  where,  with  the  impressive  ceremonies  of  the  church,82  he  laid  the 
foundation  stone  of  transepts,  extending  east  and  west,  with  a  choir  in  addi- 
tion, and  designed  by  P.  F.  Comber,  C.E.,  of  Bray.  These  have  greatly 
enlarged  the    building,  now  exceeding  considerably  over  100  feet  in  length. 

80  Known  in  Latin  Records  as   "Novum  be  deferred,  until  it  became  absolutely  ne- 

Monasterium."  cessary  to  proceed  with  the  building,  owing 

8'  The  site,  half  an  acre  of  land,  had  been  to  a  clause  in  the  lease,  which  limited  the 

granted  by  Mr.Thomas  Phelan — a  gentleman  time  to  within  ten  years, 

then  about  to  emigrate  to  America — on  a  82  The  proceedings  are  reported,  at  some 

lease  for  500  years,  at  a  nominal  annual  rent  length,  in  the  Freeman 's  Journal  of  August 

of  is.,  if  demanded.    For  want  of  funds,  the  2nd,  1886. 

erection  of  ajsuccursal,  church  there  had  to  83   A    handsome    statue    of    St.    Kilian, 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  i4i 


Besides  the  Ven.  and  Very  Rev.  Monsignor  Dean  Lee,83  and  several  priests,  a 
large  assemblage  of  parishioners  and  strangers  was  present.  The  whole  build- 
ing, in  its  present  completed  form,  presents  an  exceedingly  commodious  and  a 
handsome  succursal  church.  It  seems  the  clergy  and  people  of  Mullagh 
parish  held  a  tradition,  that  the  holy  Apostle  of  Franconia,  the  Martyr  St. 
Kilian,had  been  born  there,  and  accordingly  it  had  been  resolved  to  honour  his 
memory.  Wherefore,  considering  him  to  be  their  patron,  on  Thursday,  June 
25th,  1857,  the  foundation  stone  of  a  new  Catholic  church,  dedicated  to  St. 
Kilian,  and  to  be  erected  in  the  mediaeval  style  of  Gothic  architecture,  was 
blessed.  The  stone  was  laid,  in  the  presence  of  several  of  the  clergy,  belong- 
ing to  the  surrounding  parishes,  and  of  a  large  concourse  of  the  respectable 
parishioners.  The  Very  Rev.  Matthew  McQuaid,  P.P.  and  V.F.,  delegated 
by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Browne,  Bishop  of  the  diocese,  officiated  on  the  occa- 
sion.8* This  church  was  afterwards  completed,  in  an  excellent  architectural 
style,  and  it  was  opened  in  honour  of  Franconia's  and  Ireland's  illustrious 
Apostolic  Bishop  and  Martyr.  The  Catholic  church  in  the  beautiful  vale  of 
Clara,  near  Glendalough,  county  ofWicklow,  was  authorized  to  be  dedicated 
to  SS.  Patrick  and  Kilian.85  Its  situation  is  in  a  secluded  spot,  beside  the 
rushing  Avonmore  River,  a  few  miles  above  where  it  unites  with  the  Avonbeg, 
at  the  celebrated  "  Meeting  of  the  Waters/'  In  the  United  States  of 
America,  we  find  churches  and  schools  dedicated  to  St.  Kilian,  at  Fond  du 
Lac  County,  at  Hartford,  Washington  County,  and  at  Hudson,  Walworth 
County,  State  of  Wisconsin,  in  the  Archdiocese  of  Milwaukee ;  as  also,  in  the 
Diocese  of  Green  Bay,  and  at  New  Franklin,  Brown  County. 

From  an  early  period,  the  Martyrologies  and  Calendars  have  recorded  the 
Feast  of  those  holy  Martyrs.  Thus,  in  the  Hieronymian  copy  of  Usuard,  belong- 
ing to  Lucca,  there  is  an  insertion  ;86  as  also,  in  an  old  Martyrology,  belonging 
to  St.  Martin,  at  Treves.8?  The  Martyrologists,  Wandalbert,88  Raban,89  and 
Ado,  or  his  interpolator,  placed  it,  on  the  8th  of  the  Ides  of  July ;  while  the 
principal  festival  of  those  Martyrs  has  been  assigned  to  this  date,  the  pre- 
sumed anniversary  of  their  Martyrdom.  Notkerhas  rather  lengthened  notices 
of  those  saints,  and  evidently  drawn  from  ancient  Acts,  closely  corresponding 
with  those  referred  to,  in  the  earlier  paragraphs  of  the  present  biography. 
Trithemius,  Ghinnius,  Bucelin,  Maurolycus,  Felicius,  Galesinius,  Dorgan,  and 
Menard,  have  a  record  of  their  Festival,  and  of  the  saints'  names,  more  or  less 

wrought  by  Herr  Arnold  Fussenging,  an  emi-  89  He  writes  :  "  In  pago  Austrioe,  et  castro, 

nent  Bavarian  artist,  and  now  mounted  over  the  nomine    Wirziburg,   juxta    Moiii    fluvium, 

high  altar  of  the  church,  was  a  personal  gift  sanctorum  natale  Chiliani  martyris  et  duo- 

of  the  Dean,  to  whom  the  credit  of  erecting  rum  sociorum  ejus,  qui  ab  Hibernia  Scoto- 

the  whole  of  this  handsome  church  is  due.  rum  insula  venientes,  nomen  Christi  in  prse- 

84  The  foregoing  account  has  been  taken  dictis  locis  pnedicaverum  ibique  ob  veritatis 
from  a  contemporaneous  newspaper,  the  confessionem,  a  quodam  judice  iniquo,  no- 
Catholic  Telegraph  of  July  18th,  1857.  It  had  mine  Gosberto,  trucidati  sunt,  etposteamul- 
been  sent  by  a  local  correspondent.  tis  signis  veri  Christi  Martyres  esse  clarue- 

85  By  His  Eminence  Paul  Cardinal  Cullen,  runt." 

on  November  14th,  1864,  at  request  of  Very  9°  Thus  :  "  Herbipoli  in  Germania  sancti 

Rev.  Richard  Galvin,  P.P.,  Rathdrum.  Chiliani  Episcopi,   qui  a  Romano  Pontifice 

8°  "  In  Austria,  passio  S.  Kiliani."     The  ad   praedicandum  Evangelium  missus,   cum 

Bollandist  Soller  deems  this  to  have  been  an  multis   ad    Christum  perduxisset,    una  cum 

addition  to  the  original.  sociis  Colomano  Presbytero  et  Totnano  Dia- 

*7  Thus  entered  :   "  In  Vuirceburg,  quae  et  cono      trucidatus      est." — "  Maityrologium 

Ermipolis    nuncupatur,  Kyliani  episcopi  et  Romanum    Gregorii    XIII.,"    &c,   p.    98. 

martyris."  Editio  novissima,  Romae,  1878,  fol. 

88  He  states  :  9I  Thus,  in  Bishop  Forbes'  "  Kalendars  of 

Scottish  Saints:''  "  S.  Kiliane  bishop  of  h*er- 

"  Octavo  ante   Idus  Cilianum  Procopi-  bipolis  Scotismon    vnder  heraclius.    630." 

umque."  Seep.  157. 


i42  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


exactly  rendered.  The  Roman  Martyrology  has  a  succinct  and  an  accurate 
entry  regarding  them,  and  likewise  at  this  date. 9°  In  nearly  ail  the  more 
recent  Acts,  Martyrologies  and  Calendars  of  Saints,  in  like  manner  are  to  be 
found  placed  the  names  of  Saints  Kilian,  Colman  and  Totnan.  In  the  Scot- 
tish Kalendars,  St.  Kilian  and  his  companions  are  entered,  at  the  8th  of 
July,  viz. :  in  Adam  King's  Kalendar^1  and  in  Dempster's  Menologium 
Scoticum.92  Also,  their  feast  is  set  down  in  R.  Chambers'  "  Book  of  Days."93 
In  reference — evidently  to  these  Martyrs — there  is  a  curious  entry  94  placed 
in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,^  at  this  day,  the  8th  of  July,  in  honour 
of  St.  Celian,  a  Scottish  Martyr,  with  his  holy  brethren,  Aedh  and  Tadg,  with 
Anurma,  wife  to  the  King  of  the  Goths.  We  are  informed,  that  they  were 
massacred  by  the  prefect  of  the  Royal  Palace,  and  in  the  Hippodrome  of  the 
king's  residence.  On  Convceus'  List  of  Irish  Saints,  St.  Chilianus,  St.  Colo- 
natus  or  Colomanus,  and  Totnanus,  Martyrs,  are  set  down  at  the  8th  of 
July.96  Father  Henry  Fitz-simon  has  also  Totnanus,  at  this  same  date,  and 
as  he  states,  by  universal  assent. 97  Father  Stephen  White  98  commemorates 
these  three  holy  companions,  Kilianus,  Colonatus  and  Totnanus,  martyrs, 
at  the  present  date.  The  martyrdom  of  these  three  saints  is  noted  in  Vene- 
rable Bede's  Martyrology,99  according  to  the  statement  of  Father  Stephen 
White.100  For  this  introduction,  the  Roman  Martyrology  is  quoted.  At  the 
8th  of  July,  veneration  was  given  to  Kilianus,  Colmanus  et  Colonatus, 
Totnanus,  Diaconus,  according  to  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal.101  There  is 
a  Cillian,  son  of  Dodhnan,  adds  the  calendarist,  at  the  23rd  of  October.  Then 
he  says  :  "  inde  error  ;"102  but  the  writer  of  this  note  probably  only  intended 
it  for  a  memorandum,  to  guide  himself  or  his  readers  to  a  better  intelligence, 
regarding  the  present  Kilian  or  the  Cillian,  son  of  Dodnan,  entered  by  him  at 
the  23rd  of  October.  At  the  same  date,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,103  we 
find  the  names  of  Cele-clerech,  Bishop,  Aedh,  and  Tadhg.10*  These  three 
suffered  Martyrdom,  in  Uairseburg,10s  in  Almania. 

91  Thus  :  "In  Franconia  Kiliani,  Totnani,  Martyris  et  sociorum  (Colonati  et  Totnani) 

Colmani   et  Ervvaldi   monachorum,   gentis  ejus,    qui    de    Ibernia     Scotorum     insula, 

Apostolorum,  qui  a  Geilana  martyris  affici  venientes,  nomen  Christi  in  prasdictis  locis 

jussi,  M." — Ibid.,  p.  205.  praedicaverunt,  ibique  ob  confessionem  veri- 

93  See  vol.  ii.,  July  8,  col.  555.  tatis  sub  quodam  judice  Dosberto  trucidati 

94  It  runs  thus:  "  S.  Celiani  Scotti  sunt,  et  multis  postea  signis  veri  Christi 
martyris   cum  Sanctis  fratribus  Aedh  ocus      martyres  esse  claruerunt." 

Tadg  ocus  Amarma  conjuge  Regis  Gotho-  I0°  See  "Apologia  pro  Hibernia,"  cap.  iii., 

rum  truncati  a  prepositodomus  regiaein  ippo-  pp.  22,  23. 

dromia   Palatii   regis."       These  words  are  MI  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

from    a    gloss    to     Marianus     O'Gorman's  190,  191. 

Martyrology.  I02  A  note  by  Dr.  Todd  says  at  Inde  error: 

95  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  u  It  is  not  very  clear  what  the  error  was  to 

96  Thus:  "  S.  Chilianus  Epis.  Hiperbo-  which  our  author  here  alludes.  He  probably 
lensis  genere  et  martyris  nobilissimus.  meant  the  error  in  the  name.  He  does  not, 
Wiziburgi.  8  Julii."  "  S.  Colonatus,  seu  however,  quote  the  Mart.  Rom.  correctly; 
Colomanus,  et  Totnanus  martyres  et  socii  perhaps  for  "  Colmanus  et  Colonatus,"  we 
beati  Chiliani  Albiniaci.  8  Julii."     See  ibid.,  should  read  Colmanus  vel  Colonatus." 

cap.  x.,  p.  48.  103  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

97  See    O'Sullevan    Beare's    "  Historic      190,  191. 

Catholicae  Iberniae  Compendium,"  tomus  i.,  I04  There    can    be    no   doubt,    that    the 

lib.  iv.,  cap.  xii.,  pp.  55,  57.  Chilianus  of  the  Roman  Martyrology,  and 

98  This  writer  remarks :  "en  tibi  novos  his  fellow  martyrs — notwithstanding  the 
tres  martyres,  Gyralde."  See  "Apologia  variation  in  the  names — are  the  same  as 
pro   Hibernia,"    cap.   ii.,   p.    15,    cap.   iii.,  Cele-clerech,  Aedh,  and  Tadg. 

p.  23.  ios  A  note  by  Dr.  Todd  says  at  Uairse- 

99  In  these  terms  :  "  Octavo  idus  Julii  in  burg  :  "i.e.,  Wirtzburg  in  Franconia."  The 
pago  Austria  et  Castro  nomine  Wurtzbourg,  more  recent  hand  adds  here  in  Roman  letters, 
juxta  Maenum  fluvium,    natale    S.    Kiliani  u  Vide  aliter  apud.  M.  Taml." 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  143 

With  regard  to  the  great  Apostles  of  Gentile  nations,  we  may  safely  assert, 
that  the  person,  who  imparts  Christian  knowledge  to  those  who  have  it  not, 
is  like  one  who  gives  sight  to  a  blind  man.  He  is  a  true  enlightener  of  men. 
Although,  indeed,  the  words  of  a  preacher  may  contain  little  that  is  very 
striking  or  remarkable,  and  although  intellectually,  the  holy  man  may  be  below 
mediocrity ;  yet,  the  true  preacher  knows  how  to  teach  old  and  young,  the 
doctrines  and  precepts  of  Jesus,  with  a  startling  and  an  awakening  freshness, 
which  present  them  as  with  a  voice  of  power,  thrilled  and  inspired  by  an 
eloquence  from  on  high.  When  this  is  felt  by  his  hearers  to  be  earnest,  and 
when  it  is  known  his  own  life  is  one  of  self-sacrifice,  the  mustard  seed  soon 
begins  to  take  root  and  to  grow  into  a  large  tree.  The  labours  and  zeal  of 
those  Apostles  of  Franconia,  as  on  this  day  celebrated,  flourished  and  faded, 
for  a  brief  time  ;  but,  their  blood  sealed  and  watered  that  soil,  where  they 
preached  words  of  efficacy.  In  after  time,  the  withered  plant  revived,  and  it 
became  that  seed,  which  gave  many  Christians  to  the  Church. 


ARTICLE  II.— ST.  DISIBOD,  BISHOP  AND  CONFESSOR. 

[SEVENTH  AND  EIGHTH  CENTURIES.] 

CHAPTER     I. 

INTRODUCTION— STATE  OF  GERMANY  IN  PAGAN  AND  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  TIMES — BIOGRA- 
PHIES OF  ST.  DISEN  OR  ST.  DYSIBOD— HIS  IRISH  BIRTH— HIS  YOUTHFUL  DISPOSI- 
TIONS AND  EDUCATION — ADVANCED  TO  THE  PRIESTHOOD — ELECTED  AS  BISHOP — 
TRIALS  AND  DIFFICULTIES  IN  HIS  NEW  POSITION— HE  RESOLVES  TO  LEAVE  IRELAND 
FOR  A  DISTANT  COUNTRY. 

ALTHOUGH  not  wholly  reliable  in  all  statements,  the  most  valuable  and 
authentic  account  of  Pagan  Germany1  we  possess  is  that  furnished  by 
the  celebrated  Roman  historian,  Caius  Cornelius  Tacitus.2  We  are,  however, 
more  concerned  with  the  subsequent  state  and  condition  of  that  most  impor- 
tant country,  which  extended  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Vistula,  and  from  the 
Danube  to  the  German  Ocean  and  the  Baltic  Sea.3  According  to  Rhineland 
tradition,  the  first  teacher  of  Christianity,  Crescens  or  Clemens,  came  with  the 
twenty-second  Roman  Legion,  which  had  been  with  Titus  in  Palestine. 
Afterwards,  it  was  quartered  at  Mainz,  about  a.d.  78.  In  Mainz,  he  began 
to  announce  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  A  teacher,  named  Eucharius,  in  Trier 
or  Treves,  also  aided  his  efforts,  to  preach  and  propagate  the  Christian  Reli- 
gion throughout  that  wild  tract  of  country,  lying  between  the  Main,  the 
Rhine,  the  Moselle,  and  the  Saar.  In  the  year  from  the  foundation  of  Rome 
651,  or  before  the  birth  of  Christ,   102,  Marius  delivered  Rome  from  the 


Article  11.— Chapter  1. — l  See  A.  R.  consuls. 

Carson's  edition  "  C.  Cornelii  Taciti  Opera :  3  Some  ancient  writers  give  it  even  a  larger 

ad  Fidem  optimorum   Exemplarium."     De  extent.       See    Rev.    Fathers     Catrou   and 

Situ,    Moribus  et  Populis    Germaniae,  pp.  Rouille's    "Roman    History;    with   Notes 

415  to  430.     Edinburgi,  1826,  8vo.  Historical.  Geographical  and  Critical," done 

3  He  was  born  about  the  year  810,  after  into  English  from  the  original  French,  vol. 

the  building  of  Rome,  or  the  year  57,  after  vi.,  book  lxii.,  sect,  xxx.,  n.  105,  p.  90. 

the  birth  of  Christ.     He  wrote  this  Treatise,  *  See  Jules    Zeller's    "  Hisioire    d'Alle- 

a.d.  98,  M.   Cocceius  Nerva,  Aug.  iv.,  and  magne,"  tome  i.,  liv.  i.,  chap,  ii,,  sect,  ii., 

M.  Ulpius  Trajanus  Caesar  II.  being  then  pp.  53  to  62. 


144 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  8. 


incursions  of  the  Cimbri  and  Teutones— who  were  Germans — for  the  first 
time  ;*  afterwards,  Caesar  made  some  attempts  to  restrain  them  from  invad- 
ing Gaul  ;5  Drusus,  Tiberius  and  Varus  conducted  various  Roman  expeditions 
against  them,  and  with  varying  success  or  reverse  f  Germanicus  in  the  year 
of  Christ,  a. d.  13,  made  a  final  attempt  to  subdue  Germany,  but  notwith- 
standing his  valour  and  military  skill,  he  did  not  succeed  in  re-establishing 
the  Roman  dominion  there.?  Although  divisions  prevailed  among  the  German 
nations  contending  for  supremacy,  and  although  the  Romans  took  care  to 
foment  and  avail  of  those  dissensions  ;  yet,  were  they  unable  to  effect  more 
than  an  occasional  and  a  precarious  supremacy.  Galba  succeeded,  however, 
in  causing  the  Catti  to  abandon  that  district  of  Germany  between  the  Lahn, 
the  Maine  and  the  Rhine,  and  it  was  distributed  among  the  Roman  veterans, 
during  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Caligula.8  There,  likewise,  Christianity 
began  to  spread  ;9  although  the  vast  extent  of  Germany  north  and  east  was 
not  subject  to  Roman  dominion.  It  seems  pretty  well  established,  that  long 
before  Constantine  made  Christianity  a  state  religion,  it  obtained  a  firm  foot- 
hold IO  within  that  particular  territory."  A  very  interesting  glimpse  depicting 
graphically  the  state  of  that  district,  about  371,  when  the  Idyll  "  Mosella  w" 
was  written,  has  been  left  us  by  the  poet  Ausonius.^  In  it,  we  have  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  journey  from  Mainz  to  the  sources  of  the  Moselle.14  He  crossed 
the  Nahe  at  Bingen,1*  and  he  passed  by  the  military  road  over  the  Huns- 
rucken  to  Neumagen,16  on  the  Moselle,  below  Treves,  and  at  the  frontiers  of 
the  Belgse.1?  Long  before  the  age  of  Disibod  and  his  companions,  however, 
the  Nahegau,  and  even  the  wooded  country  between   the  Nahe  and  the 


5  See  his  work  "  Commentariorum  de 
Bello  Gallico,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  xxxi.  to  liv. 

6  See  Carlo  Denina's  "  Rivoluzioni  della 
Germania,"  tomo  primo  libro  i.,  capo  ii., 
pp.  12  to  21.     Fizenze,  1804,  8vo. 

7  See  "  Histoire  des  Allemands,  traduite 
de  l'Allemand  de  Schmidt,  par  J.  C.  de  la 
Veaux,  Profcsseur  Royal  a  Berlin,  tome  i., 
liv.  L,  chap,  vi.,  pp.  66  to  93.  A  Liege, 
1784,  et  seq.  8vo. 

8  These  various  incidents  of  early  German 
history  are  very  lucidly  set  forth,  in  Jules 
Zeller's  "  Histoire  d'Allemagne,"  tome  i., 
liv.  ii.,  chap,  iv.,  pp.  129  to  183. 

9  We  do  not  know  exactly,  what  amount 
of  actual  facts  underlines  the  rhetorical 
statements  of  St.  Justin  Martyn,  of  St. 
Irenaeus,  and  of  Tertullian,  when  they  tell 
us,  that  in  the  second  century  of  our  era,  the 
Christian  religion  had  not  only  spread 
throughout  the  Roman  Empire,  but  among 
the  tribes  and  peoples  beyond,  and  expressly 
among  the  Germans. 

10  There  Roman  remains  have  from  time 
to  time  been  found,  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties. Numerous  graves  were  in  and  near 
Kreuznach,  in  which  coins  and  human  re- 
mains have  been  found.  There  are  no  traces 
proving  the  pagan  custom  of  cremation  upon 
any  of  the  latter.  They  were  uniformly  east 
and  west  in  position,  which  also  marks 
Christian  burial  from  the  earliest  times. 

"  Herr  Heep  has  some  interesting  obser- 
vations regarding  the  castra  stativa,  at  this 
northern  end  of  the  Ilunsrucken,  and  in  the 


villa  rustics  around. 

12  See  "Corpus  Poetarum  Latinorum," 
Ausonii  Burdigalensis  Idyllia,  x.,  pp.  1091 
to  1095. 

13  He  was  a  native  of  Bourdeaux  in  France, 
and  he  lived  from  about  the  year  320  to 
400. 

14  The  following  are  the  opening  lines : — 

"  Transieram  celerem  nebuloso  flumine 
Nauam, 
Addita  miratus  veteri    nova  moenia 

Vico, 
^Equavit  Latias  ubi  quondam  Gallia 

C  annas, 
Infietseque  jacent   inopes  super  arva 
catervae." 
,s  The  former  name  of  Bingen  was  Vin- 
cum.    It  is  easily  recognised,  by  its  situation 
on  the  Naua  or  Nahe.     There  is  a  common 
readingof  Vicum  for  Vincum,  but  theltenera- 
rium  Antonini  gives  the  name  as  Vincum. 
The  modern  name  could  hardly  come  from 
Vicum  or  Vicus. 

16  Noiomagum,  where  Constantine  estab- 
lished an  enormous  military  settlement,  is 
easily  recognised  as  Neumagen  on  the 
Moselle. 

1  The  two  points  at  the  beginning  and  end 
of  the  poet's  journey  being  fixed,  the  old 
Roman  road  from  Bingen  to  Treves  over  the 
Hunsrucken,  appears  to  have  been  that  direc- 
tion in  which  the  writer  pursued  his  solitary 
way.  Trackless  forests  spread  on  either  side 
of  the  route. 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  14$ 


Moselle — the  Hunsrucken  district — bad  become  Christianized.  Mainz  and 
Treves  l8  were  the  chief  cities,  from  which  Christianity  flowed  out  over  the 
surrounding  districts.  The  scene  of  Constantine's  vision  of  the  cross, T9  was 
at  Mainz,20  in  a.d.  311,  when  he  set  out  with  his  legions  against  Maxentius. 
The  best  proof  of  the  extent  to  which  Christianity  had  spread,  during  that 
period,  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  from  political  as  well  as  from  religious  mo- 
tives, Constantine  found  it  convenient  to  recognise  its  influences.21  Never- 
theless, the  Christianity  of  that  district  seems  to  have  relapsed  into  heathen- 
ism, in  the  age  of  Disibod.  This  fact  could  be  easily  accounted  for,  owing  to 
the  irruptions  of  the  wild  hordes  of  Alemanni,22  at  first,  and  afterwards  of  the 
Franks, 23  who  overturned  the  Roman  power  in  Gaul,  by  their  great  victory 
obtained  at  Soissons,  in  the  year  486. 2+  Under  the  Romans,  colonies  of  bar- 
barian captives  had  been  settled  on  the  Hunsrucken,  by  Constantine  II., 
about  a.d.  360,  owing  to  the  wily  statecraft  of  that  people,2*  who  desired 
those  slaves  of  their  Empire  to  become  interested  in  holding  other  conquered 
lands  than  their  own.  and  who  expected,  in  the  case  of  outbreak  by  their  bar- 
barian neighbours,  that  the  chief  victims  should  be  those  who  had  yielded  to 
them  in  war  as  enemies,  and  in  whose  fate  the  heartless  conquerors  felt  little 
direct  interest.  Perhaps  the  tenacity,  with  which  the  colonists  clung  to  their 
ancient  practices  in  those  districts,  which  became  afterwards  the  scene  of 
missionary  labours  for  Disibod  and  for  his  companions,  owed  something  to 
the  fact,  that  the  population  of  those  wild-wooded  tracts  had  not  benefited  by 
the  examples  of  heroism  and  self-devotion  manifested  by  the  early  martyrs  and 
pastors,  whose  doctrines  began  to  spread  through  the  better  organized  and  more 
civilized  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The  leader  of  the  Franks,  King  Clovis 
orChlodoveus  certainly  did  not — in  the  wilder  settlements  of  his  tribe — bring 
about  an  entire  abandonment  of  their  old  paganism,  after  his  conversion  to 
Christianity.  So  late  as  the  end  of  the  eighth  century,  we  find  here  in  the 
forests,  and  under  the  great  oaks,  a  rustic  worship  of  the  old  gods,  and  main- 
tained by  the  Frankish  settlers,  within  the  episcopal  diocese  of  Worms  and 
Mainz. 

From  some  earlier  accounts,  as  seems  most  probable,  St.  Raban  Maur 2(S 
and  Marianus  Scotus2? — or  rather  his  interpolator  Abbot  Dodechinus28 — have 

18  With  these  stations,  the  Nahegau  and  23  These  poured  across  the  Rhine,  when 
even  the  Hunsrucken  stood  connected  by  they  harried  and  wasted  the  country,  and 
military  roads,  which  remain  to  this  day.  finally  settled  in  the  modern  provinces  of 

19  This  is  described  in  his  own  Epistle  to  Alsace  and  Lorraine.  See  Edward  Gibbon's 
Eusebius.  "  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Ro- 

20  This  is  the  oldest  Christian  See  in  Ger-  man  Empire,"  vol.  iv.,  chap,  xxxviii.,  p. 
many.  349.     Rev.  Dr.  William  Smith's  edition. 

21  The  various  convulsions  to  which  Ger-  "*  The  Franks  defeated  the  Alemanni,  A.D. 
many  had  been  subjected  from  the  third  to  496,  in  the  decisive  battle  of  Tolbiacum,  or 
the  fifth  century  are  set  forth  in  Jules  Albiacum.  This  is  held  to  be  Tulpich,  on  the 
Zeiller's  "  Histoire  d'Allemagne,"  tome  i.,  Lower  Rhine  ;  or,  if  we  read  Albiacum,  then 
liv.  ii.,  chap,  v.,  pp.  184  to  264.  Albich,  near  Alzir,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 

22  The  Alemanni  for  a  time  were  dominant  Kreuznach. 

people,  until  their  superiority  was  disputed.  2S  The  Emperor  Julian  reproached  Con- 

"  La  Germania  Mendionale  e  Mediterranea  stantine  with  having  been  the  fiist  to  elevate 

era  tuttaviadaTuringi,  da  Sassoni,  dagli  Ale-  the  Barbarians  to  offices  of  importance   in 

manni  posseduta.    Questi  ultnni  occupavano  civil  and  military   affairs.     See    "  Histoire 

la   maggior   parte  della  Svevia,  perche   gli  des  Alemands,"  traduke  de  l'Allemand  de 

Alemanni  erano   per  la   piu  parte  di  quelli  Schmidt,  par  J.  C.  de  la  Veaux,  Professeur 

Svevi  che  abitavannoanticamente  nella  Ger-  Royal  a  Berlin,  tome  i.,  liv.   i.,  chap,  viii., 

mania  Settentrionale  tra  l'Elba  e  1  Oder." —  p.  125. 

"  Rivoluzioni  della    Germania,"   di    Carlo  26  His  Life  has  been  treated  of  already,  in 

Denina,     tomo   primo,    libro   ii.,   capo   ii.,  the  Second   Volume  of  this  work,  at  Feb- 

p.  95.  ruary  4th — the  date  for  his  festival.    Abou . 


146 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[JulyJS. 


taken  their  notices  of  the  holy  man  Dysibod.  The  Life  of  this  saint  was  written, 
according  to  the  direction  of  Abbot  Helinger,2^  by  St.  Hildegardis,30  in  the  year 
1 1 70.  This  distinguished  woman  received  her  education,  at  Disibodenberg, 
from  the  Abbess  Jutta.31  St.  Hildegarde  was  subsequently  the  last  Abbess 
over  that  convent.32  She  tells  us,  in  the  beginning  of  her  biography,  that 
she  had  revelations  or  some  sort  of  internal  monitions  to  undertake  this 
work.33  However,  it  seems  probable,  that  earlier  Lives  of  St.  Dysibod  were 
then  in  circulation,  and  which  were  but  amplified  in  particular  passages,3*  with  the 
pious  reflections  of  St.  Hildegarde.  It  is  very  certain,  that  the  narrative  is  in- 
volved and  intricate,  nor  can  we  depend  much  on  its  general  historical  accuracy. 
The  present  saint's  virtues  and  labours  are  commemorated  by  Molanus, 
Canisius,and  Arnoldus.3*  The  Abbot  John  of  Trittenheim  3<5  has  an  account  of 
St.  Disibodus  ;  as  also  the  Abbot  Dodechinus,  who  was  Abbot  of  Dissenburg, 
and  John  Wilson,3?  commemorate  him.  The  Acts  of  this  holy  missionary  and 
bishop  have  been  included  in  the  collections  of  Lippeloo,38  of  Surius,3?  of  the 
Bollandists,4°  and  of  the  Benedictines.*1  Father  John  Mabillon  has  an 
account  of  St.  Disibodus,  in  his   "  Annales  Ordinis  S.  Benedicti."42      He  is 


his  Martyrology,  more  has  been  stated  in  the 
First  Volume.  Introduction. 

27  In  G.  Waitz's  edition  of  Mariani  Scotti 
"  Chronicon,"  there  is  no  entry  regarding 
our  saint,  as  may  be  noticed  by  referring 
to  the  "  Monumental  Germania  Historica," 
tomus  v. 

38  This  Codex  version,  of  what  professes 
to  be  the  Chronicle  of  Marianus,  has  been  so 
filled  with  local  historic  incidents,  that  it 
might  better  deserve  the  title  "  Annales  S. 
Dysibodi."— Ibid.,  pp.  483,  484. 

29  He  was  the  fifth  Abbot  over  the  Abbey, 
built  on  Disibodenberg  Mount. 

30  For  nearly  one  hundred  years,  after 
1005,  a  cloister  for  nuns  of  noble  families 
existed  at  Disibodenberg,  as  well  as  the 
cloisters  for  the  monks.     And 

"  Die   Nonnen  sangen  ;  O  Christe  du 
bariitigam  suss  und  traut  ! 
Die    Monche    seufz'ten  :    Maria,    O 
Komm,  du  susse  Braut  I" 

31  The  Abbess  Jutta  of  Disibodenberg — 
one  of  the  old  Sponheim  race — went  through 
the  Glan  with  dry  feet,  and  she  turned  water 
into  wine,  according  to  the  Legend  of  her 
Life. 

32  Having  found  the  community  of  goods 
between  monks  and  nuns  there  not  quite  to 
her  severer  taste,  she  insisted  on  a  separa- 
tion. With  the  help  of  the  Counts  of  .spon- 
heim and  others,  after  great  resistance  on  the 
part  of  the  abbot  and  monks,  she  accom- 
plished her  object,  and  founded  a  new  reli- 
gious Parthenon  for  herself  andhernuns,  about 
1 1 50,  on  the  Rubertsberg,  and  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Nahe  near  Kreuznach.  The  only 
male  inmate  of  their  house,  in  that  place, 
was  the  holy  Rupert,  a  saint  who  was  buried 
there  many  hundred  years  before,  in  the 
times  of  King  Pippin.  The  abbess  Hilde- 
garde has  been  renowned  for  extraordinary 


sanctity  and  austerity,  while  her  revelations 
have  made  her  celebrated,  not  alone  during 
her  own  age,  but  through  all  succeeding  cen- 
turies. Her  feast  is  celebrated  on  the  17th 
of  September. 

33  See  the  Bollandists'  "  Acta  Sanctorum," 
tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.  De  S.  Disibodo  Episc, 
et  Confess,  in  Dysenberg,  Territorii  Mogun- 
tini,  in  Germania.  Vita  auctore  S.  Hilde- 
garde moniali.  Ex  M.  S.  Maximini  Trevi- 
rensis,  in  Four  chapters  and  Fifty-four  para- 
graphs, pp.  588  to  597.  A  previous  Com- 
mentary in  Three  sections  and  Thirty-three 
paragraphs,  by  the  Editor,  Father  John 
Baptist  Soller,  precedes,  and  notes  are 
added. 

34  Such  is  the  opinion  of  Mabillon,  when 
treating  on  this  subject,  in  the  "Acta  Sanc- 
torum Ordinis  S.  Benedicti." 

35  See  Father  Stephen  White's  "Apologia 
pro  Hibernia,"  cap.  iv.,  pp.  26,  44. 

36  In  his  "Chronicon  llirsaugiensis,"  ad 
annum  Christi  1108.  Likewise,  in  his  work 
"  De  Viris  Illustribus  Ordinis  S.  Benedicti, 
lib.  iii.,  cap.  eclviii. 

37  In  his  "  Martyrologium  Anglicanum," 
at  Julii  viii. 

The  "Vita  Sanctorum."  The  Third 
Volume  contains  Acts  of  St.  Disibod,  Bishop, 
at  July  the  8th.     See  pp.  113  to  119. 

39  See  Vita  St.  Disibodi,  Confessoris,  in 
Gcrmannia,  in  thirty-seven  paragraphs  of 
Surius,  tomus  iv.  of  "Acta  Sanctorum, "  pp. 
141  to  148,  at  Julii  viii. 

40  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii., 
Julii  viii.,  pp.  581  to  599. 

41  In  the  Appendix  to  the  Fourth  Volume 
of  the  "Acta  Sanctorum  Ordinis  S.  Bene- 
dicti," sax  iii.,  pars  ii.,  A.D.  700  to  A.D.  800, 
is  written  the  Life  of  St.  Disibod,  Confessor, 
in  8  paragraphs,  pp.  496  to  498. 

4i  Sec  tomus  i.,   lib.   xvi.,  num.  xliv.,  pp. 
522,  523. 
43  In  his  work  "  Annalibus  Trevirensibus, 


July  8.]  LIVES  Ofi  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  147 


noticed,  likewise,  by  Christopher  Brower.43  The  Bollandists  44  had  obtained 
Acts  of  St.  Dysibod,  which  were  taken  from  a  vellum  Passional,  belonging  to 
the  monastery  of  Bodensee,  but  to  which  they  attached  very  slight  importance, 
as  the  accounts  contained  in  them  appeared  to  have  been  very  unskilfully 
compiled  from  other  Acts  of  saints,  and  to  have  been  mainly  taken  up  with  a 
puerile  Legend  of  King  Dagobert's  hunting  and  of  his  bestowing  a  munificent 
endowment  for  the  monastery  of  Dysibod,  as  also  with  an  account  of  miracles 
which  had  been  wrought  through  his  intercession  after  the  time  of  St.  Hilde- 
garde.  It  is  supposed,  that  these  legends  had  been  collected  probably  in 
the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  century.  There  is  an  unreliable  account  in 
Dempster45  of  this  holy  missionary.  It  was  Colgan's  intention  to  have 
written  his  Acts  at  this  date/6  Adrien  Baillet 4?  has  some  notices  regarding 
him,  as  Abbot  of  Disenburg.  Among  the  more  modern  Irish  writers,  in 
Walter  Harris'  Ware,48  as  also  in  the  works  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan  w  and 
of  John  D'Alton,50  there  are  notices  of  St.  Dysibod.  A  brief  account  of  St. 
Disen  or  Disibode  is  to  be  found  in  Les  Petits  Bollandistes'51  collection. 

As  a  great  portion  of  St.  Hildegarde's  Acts  of  this  holy  man  are  diffusely 
rhetorical  and  traditional,  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  an  abbreviated  state- 
ment of  the  few  facts  they  present,  with  some  notices  of  him  from  other  sources. 
St.  Disibod,  or  Disen,  is  said  to  have  been  descended  from  a  noble  Hiber- 
nian family,  although  his  parents  were  not  possessed  of  a  superfluity  of  this 
world's  riches.  They  were  oppressed  by  the  hostility  of  a  certain  powerful  and 
tyrannic  chief,  who  was  dominant  in  their  part  of  the  country,  and  who  had  re- 
duced them  and  others  as  well,  to  a  state  of  depression  and  dependence.  Disi- 
bod was  still  a  boy,  at  this  time,  and  from  the  very  earliest  age  he  was  distin- 
guished for  many  virtues.  Although  some  of  the  Scottish  writers  claim  him  as  a 
compatriot,*2  he  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  as  seems  most  probable,53  some  time 
after  the  year  620.  It  would  appear,  that  his  dispositions  were  all  of  a  pious 
tendency ;  that  he  was  pure  of  mind,  and  prudent  for  his  age  ;  avoiding  evil 
and  doing  good,  to  the  very  utmost  of  his  ability.  No  wonder,  that  his  parents 
were  unwilling  to  surrender  him  as  a  hostage  to  that  tyrant,  whose  caprices 
were  of  a  passionate  and  an  ill-natured  bent.  Wherefore,  they  watched  an  oppor- 
tunity and  fled  with  him  to  a  more  remote  part  of  the  country,  where  a  river 
flowed  into  the  sea.54  At  this  place,  there  was  a  town  and  an  institute  of 
religious  men,  who  conducted  a  school.  These  taught  various  liberal  sciences, 
and  Disibod  was  placed  under  their  care.  His  learning  and  intellectual 
abilities  were  only  surpassed  by  his  proficiency  in  the  graces  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  gave  great  comfort  to  his  parents,  during  their  forced  expulsion 
from  their  former  home.  Disibod  had  a  most  retentive  memory,  and  as  day 
by  day  he  grew  in  stature  and  in  mental  resources,  he  applied  also  to  the 
practice  of  good  works,  to  prayer  and  to  alms-giving,  daily  becoming  more 
perfect  in  the  knowledge  and  observance  of  God's  law.  He  was  resolved  to 
devote  himself  entirely  to  the  Divine  service.  Accordingly,  step  by  step,  he 
received  the  various  minor  charges  of  the  ministry.  At  thirty  years  of  age, 
he  was  promoted  to  priest's  orders.  He  then  resolved,  more  sedulously, 
if  possible,  to  cultivate  the  Lord's  vineyard.     It  so  happened,  in  that  part  of 

ad  annum  Christi  639.  Mensium  et  Dierum." 

44  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomusii.,  Julii  v  See   "Les  Vies  des  Saints,"  tome  Hi., 

viii.     De  S.  Disibodo  Episc.  et  Confess.,  &c.  pp.  67  to  69. 

Commentarius  Preevius,  sect,  ii.,  num.  15,  p.  48  See  vol.  i.,  "  Archbishops  of  Dublin," 

584,  and  pp.  597  to  599.  p.  304. 

4> See  "  Historia Ecclesiastica  Gentis  Sco-  «  See     "Ecclesiastical   History  of   Ire- 

torum,"  tomus  i.,  lib.   iv.,  num.  ccclxxiii.  land,"  vol.  hi.,  chap,  xviii.,  sect,  ix.,  pp.  114, 

46  As  may  be  seen  from   "Catalogus  Ac-  115. 

tuum  Sanctorum  quae  MS.  habentur,  ordine  s°  See  "Memoirs  of  the  Archbishops  of 


148 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  8. 


the  country,  one  of  the  bishops  belonging  to  the  place  had  been  called  away 
from  this  life  ;  and  according  to  the  custom  prevailing,  all  the  people  assem- 
bled to  chose  his  successor.  The  holiness  of  Disibod,  and  his  suitability  for 
that  exalted  office,  were  thoroughly  well  known.  Accordingly,  he  was 
unanimously  elected.  Through  humility,  he  at  first  refused,  but  those,  whose 
prudent  opinions  he  respected,  urged  him  to  comply  with  what  seemed  to  be 
the  will  of  Divine  Providence.  He  was  soon  afterwards  elevated  to  the 
dignity  of  Bishop,  although  he  accepted  this  position  with  extreme  reluctance. 
However,  he  collected  around  him  some  persons  of  great  judgment  and 
piety,  by  whose  advice  he  desired  to  be  chiefly  guided.  They  gave  him  the 
greater  courage  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  trust  faithfully,  and  while  loyal 
to  their  spiritual  superior,  they  afforded  him  great  consolation,  in  some  trials 
and  difficulties  to  which  he  had  been  subjected.  Notwithstanding,  his  greatest 
refuge  was  in  distrust  of  himself,  and  in  prayer  to  God,  whereby  his  deficien- 
cies might  be  supplied.  We  are  told,  that  the  See  over  which  he  presided 
was  that  of  Dublin  ;ss  and  some  writers,  who  have  treated  regarding  the  suc- 
cession of  Prelates  in  that  See,  make  him  succeed  St.  Wiro,s6  another  sup- 
posed bishop  in  that  See.  He  is  said  to  have  resigned  it,  and  to  have 
left  for  Belgium,  where  he  died  at  Rurimond,  on  the  8th  of  May,  a.d.  650. 57 

This,  however,  not 
alone  admits  of 
doubt,s8  but,  it  is 
altogether  improba- 
ble, as  Dublin  had 
not  become  a  city, 59 
nor  had  it  been 
erected  into  an  ec- 
clesiastical centre  of 
government,  at  that 
early  period.60  It 
may  be,  that  Dysi- 
bod  was  a  bishop  in 
some  other  part  of 
Ireland,01  and  that, 
as  the  fame  of  Dublin 
— the  chief  city  of 
our  Island— reached 
the  Continent  before 
the  time  when  his 
Acts  had  been  writ- 
ten, it  was  assumed, 
he  must  have  pre- 
sided over  its  See,  at 
a  more  remote  time. 
He  bore  the  episco- 
pal dignity  and  bur- 
den, it  is  said,  for  ten 
years.  During  this 
time,  by  his  preach- 
ing and  zeal,  he  con- 
verted many  sinners  from  the  error  of  their  ways.  While  many  of  his  subjects 
were  averse  to  wholesome  discipline,  others  are  said  to  have  been  pagan, 


Street  View  in  the  City  of  Dublin. 


Dublin,"  pp.  20,  21. 
i'  See   "Vies    des   Saints,"    tome    viii., 


viiie  Jour  de  Juillet,  p.  164. 

s2  See  Dempster's  "  Historia  Ecclesiastic 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  149 


while  a  schism  arose,  and  many  opposed  the  teaching  to  be  found  in  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments.62  Even  some  are  stated  to  have  joined  the  Jewish 
sect.6*  Difficulties  seem  to  have  beset  him,  in  his  administration  of  diocesan 
affairs  ;  and,  for  a  long  time,  he  steadily  opposed  the  evils,  which  threatened 
him,  while  bearing  with  fortitude  and  patience  those  various  calumnies  and 
injuries  that  fell  so  thickly  upon  him.  Even  his  personal  safety  seems  to  have 
been  affected,  and  a  conspiracy  of  his  enemies  helped  to  gather  a  band  of 
rioters,  who  desired  to  depose  him.  Owing  to  the  opposition  of  these  turbu- 
lent characters  among  his  flock,  he  was  obliged  at  length  to  resign  his  bishop- 
ric. Disibod  collected  a  few  religious  men  to  whom  he  revealed  his  purpose, 
which  was,  to  leave  his  native  country,  family  and  friends,  for  the  sake  of 
Christ,  whose  vineyard  he  could  not  successfully  continue  to  cultivate  there, 
and  to  find  in  a  foreign  land,  some  field  of  labour,  which  might  be  productive 
of  better  results.  It  is  thought  to  be  probable,  that  Disibod  exercised  his 
episcopal  functions,  until  the  year  674/4  when  he  is  supposed  to  have  resigned 
the  government  of  his  See.  Some  writers  assign  an  earlier  date  for  his  migration 
to  the  Continent.63  Before  parting  from  Ireland,  an  angel  is  said  to  have 
appeared  in  a  dream,  and  told  him,  that  he  must  wander  thence,  to  kindle  in 
dark  places  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  he  must  not  rest  anywhere,  until 
one  day  when  he  shall  have  come  into  a  country,  where  his  staff  should  stick 
in  the  earth,  and  afterwards  become  a  green  sapling.  At  the  same  time, 
Dysibod  learned,  how  he  should  see  a  white  hind,  scratching  a  spring  in  the 
ground,  and  two  rivers  meeting,  at  that  place.  In  consequence  of  those 
troubles,  already  alluded  to,  he  left  his  native  country,  resolving  never  more 
to  return.  Taking  the  pilgrim's  staff — like  so  many  holy  Irishmen  of  that 
period — and  resolving  to  seek  another  sphere  of  duty,  with  cheerful  mind  he 
prayed  "  Lead  kindly  light,"66  and  he  trusted  to  God's  protection  and  guid- 
ance for  the  future  situation,  where  his  work  in  life  might  procure  him  an 
eternal  reward.6? 


Gentis  Scotorum,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  iv.,  num.  6°  See  D'Alton's  "Memoirs  of  the  Arch- 

ccclxxiii,p.  205.    New  edition.  Edinburgh  bishops  of  Dublin,  "p.  21. 

1829.  6l  In    a   safe    manner,   Mabillon   states: 

53  This  must  only  be  calculated,  on  the  very  **  Disibodus  in  Hibernia  natus,  ibidem  epis- 

uncertain  data  to  be  extracted  from  his  Acts.  copus  fuisse  dicitur." — "  Annales  Ordinis  S. 

**  This  indefinite  way  of  stating  it  leaves  Benedicti,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  xvi.,  num.   xliv., 

us  ignorant  of  the  exact  place  to  which  he  is  p.  522. 

said  to  have  gone.  6a  Father  Thomas  O'Sheerin  suggests  the 

5SJohn  Wilson,  in  his  "Martyrologiam  possibility  of  Pelagianism  having  spread  in 

Anglicanum,"  at   the   8th    of  July,   speaks  Ireland,  at  this  time. 

of    him   as    Bishop   of  Dublin  :  "  Ordina-  63  It  is  quite  evident,  that  nearly  all  these 

tus  est  Dubliniensis  in  eodem   regno   Epis-  statements  are  from  the  pure  workings  of 

copus."  imagination,  on  the  part  of  the  writer  of  our 

56  See  an  account  of  him  on   the  8th  of  saint's  Acts. 

May— the  date  for  his  festival — in  the  Fifth  6*  See  the  additions  to  Marianus  Scotus' 

Volume  of  this  work,  Art.  i.  "  Chronicon."   Ad  annum  674  et  675. 

57  See  Harris' Ware,  vol.  i.,  "Archbishops  6s  In  Les  Petits  Bollandistes'  "Vies  des 
of  Dublin,"  p.  304.  Saints,"  it  is  set  down  at  about  A.D.  652. 

58  While  he  adopts  this  assertion  on  Wil-  See  tome  viii.,  viiie  Jour  de  Juillet,  p.  164. 
son's  credit,  Harris  states  it  as  unsupported  66  The  sentiment  conveyed  in  a  beautiful 
from  any  authorities  cited  by  that  writer.  See  Hymn,  written  by  His  Eminence  John  Henry 
ibid.  Cardinal  Newman,  in  his  "Poems,"  many  of 

.  59  The  accompanying  illustration  presents  which  are  so  replete  with  true  devotional 

a  view  of  Dublin  from  Grafton-street.     On  feeling. 

the  right  is  a  portion  of  Trinity  College  and  6?  See  the  Bollandists'  "Acta  Sanctorum," 

nearly  opposite  on  the  left,  the  front  of  the  tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.      De  S.  Disibodo  Epis. 

former  Houses  of  Parliament.     Drawn  from  et  Confess.,  &c.      Vita  Auctore  S.   Hilde- 

a  photograph,  by  William  F.  Wakeman  on  garde  moniali,  ex  Ms.  S.  Maximinise  Trevi- 

the  wood,  engraved  by  Mrs.  Millard.  rensis,  cap.  i. ,  pp.  588  to  590. 


15° 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  8. 


CHAPTER    II. 

TRAVELS  OF  ST.  DYSIBOD,  WITH  HIS  COMPANIONS  GISWALD,  SALUST  AND  CLEMENT 
— A  DIVINE  REVELATION  BY  WHICH  HE  IS  BROUGHT  TO  SELECT  THE  SITE  FOR  HIS 
FUTURE  RESIDENCE— HIS  MONASTIC  AND  MISSIONARY  LIFE  AT  DISENBERG— HE 
BECOMES  POPULAR  AMONG  THE  CHIEFS  AND  PEOPLE  OF  THE  DISTRICT  SURROUND- 
ING  IT. 

Moved  by  the  spirit  of  God,  St.  Disibod  was  accompanied  by  three  pious  and 
learned  men,  named  Giswaldus  x  or  Gillilaldus,  Salust,  and  Clement,  who 
travelled  with  him  from  Ireland.  Their  first  course  was  probably  directed 
to  England,  although  St.  Disibod's  Acts  are  silent  regarding  the  special 
places  visited  by  them.  However,  it  is  stated,  that  Disibod,  and  those  who 
had  accompanied  him  from  Ireland,  kept  moving  about  and  preaching  from 
one  place  to  another,  for  ten  years,2  before  finding  the  site  for  his  permanent 
abode.  The  journey  of  those  strangers  was  chiefly  through  France  and  Ger- 
many, so  far  as  we  can  interpret  the  order  of  narrative.  It  is  likely,  in  after 
time,  they  had  reached  the  course  of  the  Lower  Rhine,  and  had  travelled 
along  its  left  banks,  through  that  highly  romantic  and  precipitous  duct 
through  which  it  flows,  from  the  present  city  of  Bonn,  to  Coblentz,  and  on  to 
liingen,3  where  it  is  joined  by  the  Nahe  and  its  tributaries.  The  holy 
missionary's  exemplary  life  and  actions  caused  even  the  rude  inhabitants  of 
those  countries,  through  which  St.  Disibod  travelled,  to  entertain  a  great 
veneration  for  him.  His  earnest,  zealous  and  persuasive  eloquence  seemed 
to  be  directed  only  for  the  attainment  of  one  end,  to  win  over  his  fellow-crea- 
tures from  the  error  of  their  ways.  He  preached  the  Gospel  without  cessation, 
everywhere  producing  a  harvest  of  souls,  by  the  exercise  of  his  apostolic 
labours,  yet  oftentimes  finding  those  persons,  whom  he  exhorted  in  vain. 
He  had  a  profound  distrust  in  his  own  unaided  exertions;  and  therefore,  he 
frequently  prayed  the  Almighty  to  assist  and  guide  him. 

Dysibod  was  at  last  consoled  by  a  vision,  which  he  had  one  night,  having 
been  assured  by  the  Almighty,  that  his  trials  should  cease,  and  that  he  should 
soon  find  a  place  of  rest,  to  reward  him  for  his  toils  and  anxieties  in  God's 
service.  It  is  by  no  means  certain,  that  our  saint  lived  so  very  shortly  after 
the  death  of  St.  Benedict/  as  has  been  stated  by  the  Abbess  St.  Hildegarde,s 
or  that  he  desired  to  establish  a  house  of  that  order,  wherever  he  purposed  to 
rest.  When  he  wished  to  gather  around  him  a  religious  community,  it  seems 
most  probable,  he  intended  only  to  follow  the  monastic  models  and  rules, 
which  prevailed  in  Ireland  during  his  time.  After  the  interval  already  calcu- 
lated, as  being  spent  in  preaching  and  journeying  on  his  mission,  St.  Disibod 


Chapter  11. —  *  So  is  he  styled,  by  Ma- 
billon,  in  his  "  Annales  Ordinis  S.  Bene- 
dict,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  xvi.,  num.  xliv.,  p. 
522. 

2  See  John  D'Alton's  "Memoirs  of  the 
Archbishops  of  Dublin,"  p.  20. 

3  A  finely  coloured  Map,  Le  Rhin  de  May- 
ence  a  Coblenz,  pi.  vi.,  in  Klisee  Rectus' 
"Nouvelle  Geographie  Universale,"  tome 
iii.,  presents  the  physical  features  of  this  re- 
gion which  are  beautifully  shown.  See  chap, 
iii.,  sect,  iii.,  p.  550. 

«  This  happened  A.D.  543. 
5  Of  St.  Benedict  she  remarks :  "  qui  nuper- 
rime  migraverat." 


6  "  Unde  iter  ingrediens  nemorosa  per 

avia  solum, 
Et  nulla  humani  spectans   vestigia 

cultus, 
Praetereo  arentem  sitientibus   undi- 

que  terris 
Dumnissum,  riguasque  perenni  fonte 

Tabernas, 
Arvaque  Sauromatum,  nuper  metata 

colonis  : 
Et  tandem  primis  Belgarum  conspi- 

cor  oris 
Nivomagum,  divi  castra  inclyta  Con- 

stantini." 
— Ausonius'  "Idylia,"  x.  Mosella,  11.  5— II. 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  151 


entered  the  Lower  Palatinate  of  Germany.  He  appears  to  have  travelled 
through  that  picturesque  region  so  happily  described  by  the  Poet  Ausonius.6 
It  is  said,  that  he  and  his  companions  wandered  without  the  sacred  sign,  till 
one  day,  travelling  through  this  distant  part  of  Gallia,  its  future  patron  reached 
the  Nahethal.  No  doubt,  similar  reports  of  that  heathenism  and  paganism, 
existing  in  the  wild  woods  and  solitudes  of  northern  Germany,  which  attracted 
St.  Goar  1  and  others  from  Aquitaine,  had  penetrated  to  Ireland,  then  the 
Island  of  Saints  and  of  missionaries.  A  desire  for  spreading  the  Gospel 
among  those  people,  inspired  Disibod  and  his  zealous  companions,  to  under- 
take the  labours  of  their  mission.8  Through  the  mountains  of  the  Hunds- 
ruck  region^  and  beyond  those  of  the  Hoch  Wald  10  and  Idar  Wald,  they 
passed.     At  length,  they  penetrated  to  the  valley  of  the  Nahe. 

That  district  lying  round  the  villages  of  Sohren,  Niedersoren,  and  Sohr- 
schied,11  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  old  Roman  road,  were  the  fields  I2  of 
ancient  colonists,  known  as  the  Saurometes.  In  these  wild  mountain  and 
forest  districts,  along  the  river  Nahe,  and  where  it  flows  into  the  Rhine,  it  is 
pretty  clear,  that  in  the  sixth  century  the  scanty  population  must  have 
relapsed  into  entire  paganism.  Early  as  Christianity  had  been  planted  in 
those  regions,  it  was  not  from  Mainz  or  Treves,  however,  that  efforts  were 
now  made  to  reclaim  those  rude  populations  to  Christianity.  The  missiona- 
ries had  come  from  a  remote  Island  in  the  Western  Ocean,  and  these  too 
were  the  pioneers  of  civilization.  In  the  interior  of  that  country,  at  the  present 
time,  every  valley  that  descends  towards  the  Rhine  near  Bingen  is  domi- 
nated by  high  donjons  and  walls,  and  there  too  begin  those  magnificent 
and  vine-clad  heights,  on  either  bank  of  that  noble  river.x3  TheGlan  and  the 
Nahe  were  the  rivers  beside  whose  commingling  waters,  as  had  been  foretold, 
the  wanderers  were  to  find  their  future  home.  "This  is  my  place  of  rest," 
cried  out  Dysibod  to  his  companions,  when  they  had  arrived  there.1*  A  high 
and  wood-crowned  hill  of  difficult  access  presented  itself,  and  the  position 
was  one  of  extreme  beauty,  in  the  eyes  of  those  stranger  pilgrims ;  nor  can 
their  taste  and  judgment  be  questioned  on  this  point,  by  tourists  who  visit  it 
at  the  present  day. 

A  strong  probability  exists,  that  St.  Disibod  had  been  created  a  "Regionary 
Bishop,  J5  without  a  fixed  See  ;  and,  we  may  suppose,  that  such  elevation  was 
a  consequence  of  his  indefatigable  missionary  efforts.  However  this  may  be, 
near  the  confluence  of  the  Nahe  and  the  Glan,  according  to  the  legend,  his 
staff  stuck  fast,  and  behold  it  burgeoned  and  unfolded  into  leafage.  This  was 
the  sign  he  had  so  long  desired.  A  white  hind  was  grazing  near,  under  whose 
feet  a  clear  spring  was  welling  forth.     The  holy  man  stood  and  worshipped 

?  The  town  of  St.   Goar,  on  the  Rhine,  I0  The  German  word  Wald — applied  to 

still  preserves  in  remembrance  the  missionary  many  local  denominations — has  the  significa- 

zeal  of  its  patron,  St.  Goar.  He  came  from  tion  of  "  forest." 

Aquitaine   to    convert  the  pagans    of   the  "   The  syllable  sohr  has  no  German  or 

Rhineland.     He  died  there,  a.d.  575.  Teutonic  root. 

8  In  this  description  and  in  other  accounts  "  Called  "  arva  Sauromatum." 

which  precede  and  follow,  we  have  utilized  I3  See  Elisee  Reclus'  "  Nouvelle  Geogra- 

a  very  interesting  series  of  articles  intituled,  phie  Universelle,"  tome  iii.,  chap,  iii.,  sect. 

"  Letters  from  Kreuznach,"  which  have  been  iii.,  pp.  547  to  555. 

published  in  The  Glasgow  Herald.    See  No.  I4  This  spot  is  situated  about  two  miles 

vi.,  Thursday,  September  2nd,  1875.  from  Kreutznac,   and  one  from  Sponheim. 

9  It  stretches  between  the    Rhine,   the  See  Mabillon's  "  Annales  Ordinis  S.  Bene- 
Moselle  and  the  Nahe,  running  chieflynorth  dicti,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  xvi.,  sect,  xliv.,  p.  523. 
and  south.     With  the  Vosges  Mountains  it  IS  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des 
is  connected  through  the  Hoch  Wald  chain.  Saints,"  tome  viii.,  viiie  Jour  de  Juillet,  p. 
See  "Gazetteer  of  the  World,"  vol.  vii.,  164. 

p.  166.  l6  The  Life  by  St.  Hildegarde  thus  de- 


152  LIVES  OE  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


like  Jacob,  leaning  on  the  top  of  his  staff,  admiring,  as  if  by  some  forewarn- 
ing instinct,  the  beauty  of  that  scene.  He  prayed,  likewise,  that  other  souls 
might  delight  in  frequenting  it,  and  that  a  faithful  people  might  serve  God 
there.  Not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision,  Disibod  and  his  companions 
built  themselves  huts  at  the  foot  of  that  hill.16  His  own  habitation  faced  the 
east,  while  the  cells  of  his  compnnions  were  severally  somewhat  removed  from 
it.1'  For  a  considerable  time,  they  lived  on  herbs  and  roots,  not  having  any 
oth  er  kind  of  food.  Sometimes,  when  hunters  or  fishers  entered  this  wood,  for 
the  purpose  of  enjoying  the  excitement  of  their  respective  pursuits,  and  when 
woodsmen  came  there  to  gather  wood,  or  for  other  reasons,  they  found  Dysi- 
bod  engaged  in  digging  for  his  daily  sustenance  or  employed  in  collecting 
what  was  necessary  for  his  support.  Soon  the  rumour  spread  abroad,  that  a 
holy  man  and  his  companions,  no  doubt  divinely  inspired,  had  come  to  settle 
in  that  wild  place.  The  people  respecting  their  motives  began  to  furnish 
them  with  means  for  living  among  them,  in  return  for  which  kindness,  the 
missionaries  studied  and  learned  their  language,  that  so  they  might  better  in- 
struct those  to  whom  they  announced  the  words  of  eternal  life.  The  poor 
and  needy  were  encouraged  to  approach  the  hermits'  cells,  where  they  were 
fed  with  what  food  those  pious  men  could  spare,  while  they  were  taught  to 
labour  for  that  food  which  is  not  perishable.  The  examples  of  the  Eastern 
solitaries,  such  as  Anthony  aud  Macharius,  was  a  model  on  which  Dysibod 
and  his  companion  fashioned  their  lives.  Lest  the  ancient  serpent  might  pre- 
vail against  them,  they  practised  great  mortification,  and  many  austerities, 
that  they  might  bring  their  flesh  into  complete  subjection  under  the  spirit.  In 
return  for  his  self-sacrificing  mode  of  living,  St.  Dysibod  was  gifted  with  the 
power  of  working  miracles.  Many  who  were  sick  and  infirm  he  healed  ;  but 
especially,  through  a  sincere  humility,  he  avoided  as  much  as  possible  the 
praise  and  admiration  of  men. 

The  original  populations  of  that  district,  in  which  Disibod  laboured  as  a 
missionary,  were  probably  the  Sauromatian  colony  and  their  descendants ; 
while  the  Frankish  conquests  added  only  thinly  scattered  settlements,  here 
and  there,  throughout  the  Wald.  The  fame  of  St.  Disibod's  sanctity  could 
hardly  fail  to  spread  abroad,  and  accordingly,  as  if  by  a  spontaneous  move- 
ment, several  people  collected  and  built  an  oratory  for  him,  on  the  eastern 
side  of  that  mountain  where  he  dwelt,  and  it  was  intended  for  his  accommo- 
dation, so  that  he  might  celebrate  the  Divine  mysteries  there,  and  engage  in 
his  offices  of  prayer  and  sacrifice.  This  was  contrived,  likewise,  to  prevent 
an  easy  access,  which  might  bring  pilgrims  in  greater  crowds  to  him,  and 
thus  interrupt  his  daily  round  of  spiritual  exercises.  Although  he  led  a  soli- 
tary life  l8  in  that  place,  yet  was  he  accessible,  not  only  to  the  brothers  of 
his  community,  but  even  to  strangers,  who  came  to  him  for  advice  or  instruc- 
tion. Before  his  death,  the  holy  man  saw  a  chapel  erected  on  the  eastern 
brow  of  that  hill.  In  like  manner,  a  village  or  collection  of  huts — the  nucleus 
of  the  later  Studenheim — was  built  on  a  plain  at  its  western  foot,  when  the 
thorns  and  brambles  had  been  removed.  Gardens  and  small  paddocks  were 
there  enclosed,  to  serve  for  his  purposes  and  temporal  wants.  He  erected  a 
monastery  *9  accordingly,  and  he  collected  about  him  many  monks,  belong- 

scribes  it:  "  Mons  autem  ille  in  circuital,  ries. 

cum  adjacentibus    sibi  silvis,   locis  quoque  ,8  In  Harris' Ware,  it  is  stated  he  lived  there 

perviis  et  inviis  (non  unius  hominis  sed  com-  "  an  Eremetick  Life,"  vol.  i.,  "  Archbishops 

provincialium,  tam  minorum  quam  majorum)  of  Dublin,"  p.  304. 

plusquam  milliare  unum  eo  tempore  erat."  '9  While  some  writers  have  the  erection  of 

17  This  description  is   quite  in  keeping,  this  monastery  at  A.  n.  674,  others  place  it  at 

with  the  plan  of  the  primitive  Irish  monaste-  a  much  earlier  date. 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  153 

ing,  it  has  been  said,  to  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict.  However,  this  latter 
statement  does  not  appear  to  be  correct ;  for,  it  is  much  more  probable,  that 
St.  Dysibod  and  his  companions  lived  under  an  Irish  form  of  rule,  which  in 
times  long  subsequent  was  supplanted  there  by  that  of  St.  Benedict.10  Soon 
his  congregation  began  to  increase,  and  he  endeavoured  to  govern  it  in  a 
manner,  which  might  serve  to  repulse  the  approach  of  sin  among  them.  He 
warned  the  monks,  to  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  Christ ;  to  be  chaste, 
humble,  disinterested  and  persevering  in  virtue.  He  cautioned  thern  against 
the  spirit  of  worldliness,  which  was  to  be  overcome,  by  strict  adhesion  to 
their  rules  of  discipline.  The  number  of  his  monks  was  fifty,  in  the  earlier 
period  of  his  foundation;  but  before  twelve  years  had  passed  over,  that 
number  was  largely  increased.  He  was  always  careful  to  prove  well  the  merits 
of  those,  who  sought  admission  to  his  institute.  Having  been  elected  Abbot 
by  the  religious  who  followed  him  there,  he  applied  to  the  faithful  discharge 
of  those  responsible  duties  devolving  on  him.  Many  came  from  distant 
places  to  visit  St.  Dysibod,  and  these  always  recommended  themselves  to  his 
prayers  and  patronage.  They  declared,  also,  that  as  the  Almighty  had  sent 
such  a  great  servant  to  dwell  among  them,  so  was  it  their  duty  to  make  a  pil- 
grimage to  his  solitude,  and  to  honour  him  in  every  possible  way.  The  holy 
missioner  received  from  one  of  the  territorial  proprietors,  near  the  confluence 
of  the  Rivers  Glan  and  Nahe,  as  a  provision  for  future  support,  and  as  a 
means  to  procure  temporal  necessaries,  the  gift  of  a  large  tract  of  a  high 
wooded  mountain.21  Both  the  chiefs  and  people  of  that  district  resolved  the 
saint  and  his  successors  should  remain  among  them.  The  entire  hill  and  its 
appurtenances  were  given  to  the  monks,  who  dwelt  there.  This  was  regarded 
as  their  patrimony,  because  of  the  many  wonders  the  Almighty  had  wrought 
through  their  instrumentality.  As  if  with  one  voice,  the  donors  cried  out  : 
4<  Praises  be  to  thee  O  Lord  God,  who  hath  deigned  to  send  this  saint  among 
us  !"  While  Dysibod  gratefully  received  this  gift,  he  also  dreaded,  that  it 
might  prove  an  impediment  to  his  spiritual  well-doing.  He  fell  on  his 
knees  and  prayed,  that  this  gift  might  be  fruitful  alone  in  bringing  souls  to 
Christ. 

The  site  of  his  monastery  took  the  appropriate  name  of  Mount  Disibod, 
after  the  saint  ;22  and  at  present  it  is  called  Dysenberg  or  Disenberg.23  Its 
later  ruined  monastery — also  called  Dissibodenberg — near  Staudemheim,2* 
rises  over  the  River  Nahe.  By  the  French,  his  place  was  designated  Mont- 
Saint  Disibode.2s  A  work,  intituled  "De  Monachorum  Profectuin  Solitudine 
agentium,"  lib.  i.,2<5  which  was  intended  chiefly  for  the  instruction  of  his  dis- 
ciples, has  been  ascribed  to  him.  Thomas  Dempster,  the  Scotchman,  tells 
us,2?  that  he  saw  a  fragment  of  this  work.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan  28  seems  to 
discredit  this  statement  of  Dempster,  but  he  does  not  state  on  what  grounds. 
Probably,  however,  it  was  owing  to  his  natural  distrust  regarding  the  honesty 
and  veracity  of  our  national  saint-stealer. 

Owing  to  the  merits  of  this  holy  servant  of  God,  many  miracles  and  signs 

20  It  is  strange,  that  the  acute  and  learned       on  the  Continent,"  sect,  viii.,  Route  100,  p. 
Irish  historian,  Rev.    Dr.   Lanigan,  should       511. 

have  fallen  into  the  error  of  his  rule  being  25  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des 

tliat  of  St.   Benedict.     See    "Ecclesiastical  Saints,"  tome  viii.,  viiie  Jour  de  Juillet,  p. 

History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  iii.,   chap,  xviii.,  164. 

sect,  ix.,  p.  1 14.  26  See  Harris'  Ware,  vol.  i.,  u  Archbishops 

21  See  John  D'Alton's  "  Memoirs  of  the  of  Dublin,"  p.  304. 

Archbishops  of  Dublin,"  p.  20.  27  See  "  Historia  EcclesiasticaGentis  Sco- 

22  See  Arnold   Wion's   "Lignum  Vitse,"  torum,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  iv.,  num.  373,  p.  205. 
lib.  ix.,  cap.  58.  2g  See  his  "Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ire- 

23  In  Latin,  called  "Mons  Sancti  Disibodi."  land,"  vol.  iii.,  chap,  xviii.,  sect,  ix.,  n.  113, 

24  See  Murray's  "  Handbook  for  Travellers  p.  115. 


154  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


were  wrought  through  him.  Among  these  are  specified  his  restoring  to  speech 
a  man,  whose  tongue  had  been  paralyzed,  so  that  he  had  not  the  power  of 
speaking,  and  this  he  intimated  by  signs  to  the  saint.  The  latter  prayed,  and 
then,  in  imitation  of  our  Divine  Lord,  he  cried  out :  "  In  the  name  of  Him  who 
said  to  the  mute  man,  effeta,  and  he  began  to  speak,  I  order  that  thou  depart 
from  the  tongue  of  this  man,  which  thou  hast  bound  with  a  chain  of  infirmity, 
and  henceforth  never  prevent  him  from  speaking,"  These  words  were 
addressed  to  the  evil  spirit.  Immediately  the  man  found  words  to  return 
thanks  to  God  and  to  his  saint.  In  like  manner  was  a  dropsical  person  and  a 
leper  healed,  although  through  humility  St.  Dysibod  would  wish  to  conceal 
his  agency  in  those  matters,  and  to  refer  all  such  supernatural  benefits,  not  to 
his  own  merits,  but  to  the  omnipotence  of  God  alone.  The  blind,  the  lame, 
the  weak,  as  also  those  possessed  by  the  devil,  and  persons  who  had  been 
deprived  of  their  senses,  came  to  him  from  places  far  and  near,  and  as  the 
virtue  of  the  Almighty  had  been  exercised  through  him,  they  were  healed 
from  their  several  infirmities. 

He  led  a  much  stricter  life,  however,  than  even  the  rule  demanded,  which 
had  been  established  for  his  monks.  Although  living  in  such  close  proximity 
to  them,  Disibod,  it  is  said,  never  removed  into  their  cloisters,  nor  assumed 
the  habits  of  their  order  j  but,  he  lived  a  life  more  austere  and  self-denying, 
than  that  required  from  his  subjects.2^  While  spending  his  days  as  a  hermit, 
he  laboured  zealously  to  urge  upon  them  the  practice  of  every  good  work, 
while  he  so  comforted  them,  that  they  desired  not  to  have  any  other  master 
during  his  lifetime,  so  gentle  and  so  inoffensive  was  his  method  of  governing 
them.  Although  he  had  suggested  to  his  monks  the  desirability  of  electing 
some  other  superior  to  fill  his  place,  yet  they  would  not  entertain  such  a  pro- 
posal. The  fame  of  his  holiness  and  of  his  happy  disposition  spread  far  and 
wide,  so  that  many  persons  flocked  to  his  place,  even  from  distant  provinces. 
The  people  of  the  villages  around  him  were  also  delighted  to  act  the  part  of 
good  neighbours  and  of  good  Christians,  while  they  lent  willing  and  very 
material  aid  to  forward  all  his  enterprises.  He  thus  lived  a  retired  and  peni- 
tential life  for  thirty  years,  at  Dissenberg,  watching  and  fasting,  taking  only 
the  most  frugal  and  coarse  food,  and  using  a  plain  rough  garment.  He 
imitated  the  retirement  of  Blessed  Paul,  the  first  hermit,  preferring  the  soli- 
tude of  the  desert  to  the  towns  which  are  the  haunts  of  men.  We  are  told, 
that  he  celebrated  the  Divine  office  of  the  Altar,  not  after  the  manner  of  a 
bishop,  but  according  to  the  custom  of  poor  priests.  Always  was  he  cheerful 
in  disposition,  and  his  heart  was  never  oppressed  with  sorrow,  endeavouring 
in  all  ways  to  imitate  the  patience  of  Christ  under  affliction. 3° 


CHAPTER     III. 

PROPHECIES  OF  ST.  DISIBOD— HIS  DECLINING  YEARS  AND  APPROACH  OF  DEATH— DATES 
ASSIGNED  FOR  IT — MIRACLES  WHICH  AFTERWARDS  TOOK  PLACE — FESTIVALS  AND 
MEMORIALS— SUBSEQUENT   HISTORY   OF   DISSENBODENBURG— CONCLUSION. 

Having  spent  a  long  life  in  Disenberg,  and  preached  much  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Mainz,1  when  his  multiplied  labours  there  and  age  had  greatly  wasted 

'9  Sttibid.,  sect,  ix.,  p.  1 14.  Moguntini,    in  Germania.  Vita  auctore   S. 

s°  See  the  Bollandists'    "Acta    Sancto-  Hildegrade  moniali,  cap.  ii.,  iii.,  pp.  590  to 

rum,"  tomus  i.,  Julii  viii.     De  S.  Disibodo  593. 
Epis.  et  Confess,  in  Dysenberg,  Territorii  Chapter  hi.— x  See  Rev.    S.    Baring- 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  155 


his  strength,  Dysibod  predicted  to  his  brethren  that  their  state  of  existing  pros- 
perity should  not  always  continue,  but  that  the  devil,  envying  their  happiness  and 
remembering  how  much  they  had  served  to  weaken  his  power,  should  labour 
to  bring  on  them  and  on  their  successors  future  oppression  and  temporal 
calamities.  However,  he  consoled  them  by  saying  :  '*  With  sighs  and  sorrow 
of  heart,  I  have  hitherto  earnestly  endeavoured  and  desired,  that  I  may  not 
live  to  see  your  tribulation  in  this  world,  and  I  trust  in  God  this  shall  happen. 
Yet,  know  you,  that  as  my  bodily  strength  is  now  failing  fast,  and  as  my  death 
is  near,  after  you  shall  have  suffered  oppression,  in  later  times,  better  and 
more  prosperous  events  shall  take  place,  so  that  even  your  successors  shall 
abound  in  possessions,  far  greater  than  those  I  leave  you."  When  his 
brethren  heard  him  speak  thus,  they  were  filled  with  sorrow,  which  found  vent 
in  tears,  for  they  now  knew,  that  his  death  must  soon  happen.  Soon  the 
rumour  of  his  prophecy  spread  among  the  neighbouring  people,  who  flocked 
to  him  as  to  their  chief  patron.  They  were  desirous  to  receive  his  last 
instructions  and  blessing.  He  did  not  conceal  from  them  the  secret  of  his 
approaching  end,  but  offered  up  his  prayers  for  them.  He  then  recom- 
mended to  them  the  care  of  his  monastery  and  the  place  ;  he  also  gave  his 
last  admonition  and  blessing.  None  knew  through  what  medium  he  pre- 
judged his  near  approach  to  death,  except  a  few  religious  men  to  whom  he 
revealed  it ;  some  said,  he  had  an  angelic  admonition,  although  he  concealed 
a  knowledge  of  it  from  men,  lest  his  virtues  should  be  too  greatly  extolled. 
All  his  visitors  parted  from  him,  with  visible  manifestations  of  grief,  because 
they  were  to  see  him  living  for  the  last  time.  More  owing  to  labour  than  to  old 
age,  sickness  fell  upon  him.  Then  calling  all  his  brethren  together,  he 
announced  to  them  who  was  to  be  their  future  superior,  and  to  him  he  com- 
mended the  guardianship  of  the  monks  and  their  place.  He  was  the  same 
person,  as  had  been  formerly  recommended  for  succession.  Then  with 
sorrowful  voice  and  in  tears,  he  besought  them  to  lay  his  body  within  that 
oratory,  where  he  had  spent  a  solitary  life  for  so  many  years,  and  he  pointed 
out  the  exact  spot  where  he  wished  to  be  interred.  This  they  promised  should 
be  done,  and  in  tears,  all  proclaimed  his  various  good  works  and  holy  morals. 
They  exclaimed  :  "Alas  !  alas  !  what  shall  become  of  us,  when  we  lose  you, 
the  consoler  and  defender  of  our  souls  and  bodies  !"  And,  as  the  thirsting 
stag  pants  for  the  living  waters,  so  did  the  monks  desire  he  should  remain 
much  longer  among  them,  for  his  presence  was  as  a  light  for  their  eyes,  and 
as  a  balm  for  their  hearts.  His  illness  still  increasing,  he  called  them  together 
once  more,  and  telling  them,  that  the  last  hour  had  come,  he  calmly  expired 
in  their  presence,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age.  Immediately,  a  delightful 
odour,  as  of  myrrh  and  frankincense,  filled  that  cell,  while  other  miracles  like- 
wise took,place. 

When  he  had  attained  that  advanced  age,  he  is  said  to  have  died,  on  the 
8th  day  of  July,  according  to  St.  Hildegarde's  account.  This  statement  has 
been  followed  by  many  other  writers.  However,  it  is  supposed,  that  this  was 
only  the  feast  for  a  Translation  of  St.  Disibod's  Relics,  and  not  the  true  date 
for  his  death.2  The  foregoing  statement  of  St.  Hildegarde  probably  rests 
only  on  some  inexact  tradition,  and  as  a  matter  of  established  certainty,  it  has 
been  contested. 

Everywhere  spread  the  news  of  his  death  throughout  all  that  province,  when 


Gould's.  "  Lives    of  the  Saints,"   vol.   vii.,  corps,  ou  de  sa  translation  dont  Ton  faisoit 

July  8,  p.  187.  la  fete  du  temps  de   saint  Hildegarde." 

2  "  II  y  a  apparance  que  leVIII.de  Juillel  Baillet's     "Vies    des    Saints,"    tome    hi., 

etoit  plutot   le  jour  de  l'elevation  de  son  Sept.  viii.,  sec.  iii. 


156  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


multitudes  flocked  to  assist  at  his  funeral  obsequies,  and  to  witness  the 
wonders  which  the  Almighty  wrought  in  honour  of  His  faithful  servant.  For 
thirty  days  after  St.  Dysibod's  decease  a  miraculous  odour  was  diffused 
around  his  grave  ;  while  many  lame,  blind  and  deaf  persons,  as  also  several 
demented  and  infirm,  received  healing  by  touching  even  the  clay  in  which  he 
was  buried.  The  nun  St.  Hildegarde  observes,  that  those  miracles  became 
less  frequent  ostensibly,  because  people  trusted  over  much  to  experience 
them,  without  merits  and  good  works  of  their  own,  while  the  Holy  Spirit 
measures  their  accomplishment  for  a  purpose  different  from  the  expectations 
of  men,  and  even  produces  hidden  miracles  of  grace  in  their  souls,  although 
signs  and  wonders  may  not  be  visible  in  great  physical  changes.  She  adds 
many  other  useful  moral  reflections,  which,  however,  may  be  pretermitted,  as 
they  have  no  special  bearing  on  personal  details,  regarding  our  saint's 
biography.3 

There  are  writers  who  aver,  that  St.  Dysibod  having  come  into  Germany «  a 
little  while  after  the  death  of  St.  Benedicts  must  have  lived  there  also  towards 
the  close  of  the  sixth  century.  While  some  place  his  death,  so  early  as  about 
the  year  580,  there  are  others,  who  think  it  took  place  one  hundred  years 
later.6  At  the  year  639,  his  departure  is  noticed  by  Christopher  Brower j7 
other  writers  calculate  it  about  a.d.  674  ;8  while  Adrien  Baillet  places  it 
towards  the  year  700.9  The  death  of  St.  Disibod  occurred,  about  the  begin- 
ning of  of  the  eighth  century,  according  to  Trithemius.10  The  exact  year, 
however, is  not  known." 

Several  of  the  ancient  and  classical  Martyrologies  pass  over  St.  Disibod 
without  notice,  viz. :  Bade,  Florus,  Ado,  Usuard,  and  Notker,  It  seems 
more  strange,  that  Wandelbert,  who  was  a  monk  in  the  monastery  of  Prumiens, 
near  Disenberg,  should  have  been  silent  regarding  a  saint  so  well  known  and 
having  so  long  established  a  reputation  in.  Germany.  His  chief  festival  is  kept 
on  this  day,  July  the  8th.  The  date  for  his  departure  is  supposed,  however, 
to  have  have  been  the  8th  of  September.12  At  this  latter  day,  it  is  set  down 
in  the  Martyrology  of  the  Blessed  Raban  Maur.J3  By  him,  St.  Dysibod  is 
noticed,  but  not  as  a  bishop.1*  The  8th  of  July  is  assigned  for  his  festival, 
and  likewise  the  Abbess  St.  Hildegarde  has  it  as  the  date  for  his  death.  This 
account  is  followed,  by  Wion,1*  by  Dorgan,16  and  by  Bucelin.     In  the  addi- 

3  See  the  Bollandists'  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  u  See  the  dissertation  on  this  subject,  in  the 

tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.     De  S.   Disibodo    Epis.  Bollandists'    "  Acta  Sanctorum,"    tomus  ii., 

et  Confess,  in  Dysenberg,  Territorii  Mogun-  Julii  viii.     De  S.  Disibodo  Epis.   et  Con- 

tini,    in  Germania.  Vita  auctore  S.   Hilde-  fessore,"&c.     Commentarius  Prsevius,  sect, 

garde  Moniali,  cap.  hi.,   num.  32  to  41,  pp.  ii.,  num.  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  pp.  584,  585 

593  to  595-  I2  A  further  account  of  him  will  be  found, 

*  This   has  been  stated  by  Menard  in  his  at  that  date, 

work  "De  Oriyine  et  Incremento   Ordinis  '3  Thus  :  "Et  in  surburbanis  Moguntia- 

S.  Benedicti,"  p.  860.  censis  ecclesioe,  Natale  Sancti  Disibothi  Con- 

s  This  occurred  a. n.  543.  fessoris."     He  lived  two  or  three  centuries 

'See  Father  Stephen  White's   "  Apologia  after  the  time  of  our  saint, 

pro  Hibernia,"  cap  v.,  p.  66.  x4  "Neanmoins  le  bienhereuxRaban,  Arch- 

1  In  Annalibus  Trevirensibus.  veque  deMayence,qui  etoitde  trios  cents  ans 

8  Supposing  that  St.  Disibod  came  into  plus  pres  du  temps  de  notre  Saint  qu'elle,  et 
Germany,  during  the  reign  of  Clodovoeus  II.,  sans  doute  mieux  informe,  l'a  mis  dans  son 
who  died  A.D.  662,  according  to  Labbe,  or  Martyrologe  au  VIII.  de  Septembre,  sous  le 
as  some  suppose,  at  an  earlier  period,  Cointe  titre  de  simple  confesseur,  sans  lui  donner 
is  of  opinion,  that  the  date  given  in  the  text 
cannot  be  far  from  the  true  mark. 

9  See   "  Les  Vies  des  Saints,"  tome   ix.,  iii.,  Sept.  viii.,  sect.  iii. 

September  viii.,  p.  142.     Ed.,    Paris,  1701,  *s  Thus  :  "In  Monte,  S.   Disibodi  epis- 

8vo.  copi,  qui  episcopatu  relicto,  Pater  multorum 

~  See   "  De  Viris  Illustribus  Ordinis  S.       factus  est  monachorum,  in  monasterio  dice- 


la   qualite  d'eveque,   comme  font   les   mo- 
dernes." — Baillet's  "Vies  des  Saints,"  tome 


Benedicti,"  lib.  iii.,  cap.  288.  cesis  Moguntinse,  comitatus  Spanheimensis, 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  157 


tions  to  Usuard,1?  at  the  8th  of  July,18  his  feast  is  set  down.  Trithemius  has 
strangely  entered  the  feast  of  St.  Disibod,  at  the  8th  of  June.x9  Several  other 
Martyrologists  appear  to  have  followed  him,  such  as  Saussay,ao  Menard,  the 
English  Martyrologist  John  Wilson,21  Father  Stephen  White,"  and  the 
Scotch  Dempster.  Menard  also  has  his  feast  at  the  8th  of  June33 — evidently 
a  mistake  for  8th  of  July.  Henry  Fitzsimon  enters  his  feast  at  the  same  date  ; 
but,  in  the  anonymous  list,  published  by  O'Sullevan  Beare,  we  find  the  name 
of  Disibodus,  at  the  7th  of  this  month. 2<  At  this  date,  likewise,  is  he  entered 
by  Camerarius.  At  the  8th  of  September,  Baillet,  in  his  u  Les  Vies  des 
Saints,2*  sets  down  St.  Disibod  or  Disen. 

In  certain  mediaeval  artistic  remains,  we  have  illustrations  of  popular  vene- 
ration for  many  holy  persons,  nor  has  the  present  noble  confessor  been  for- 
gotten in  this  mode  for  manifesting  devotion  towards  him.  A  very  interesting 
memorial  of  St.  Disibod  had  been  found  by  the  Jesuit  Father  Alexander 
Wilthem,  and  he  wrote  an  account  of  this  to  Father  Papebrochin  1676.  This 
consisted  of  four  brass  plates,  which  joined  together  formed  a  square  frame. 
On  these  were  various  figures  and  inscriptions.  Among  the  rest  are  repre- 
sented St.  Disibod  and  his  companions  Gislialdus,  Clemens  and  Sallust, 
chiefly  serving  to  illustrate  the  life  and  acts  of  the  former.  It  had  enamelling 
introduced.  This  has  been  reproduced  in  a  copperplate  engraving,  which  has 
been  published  by  the  Bollandists,26  with  an  accompanying  account.  There 
are  illustrations  of  Disibod,  likewise,  in  which  he  is  represented,  as  wearing 
a  very  low  mitre,  with  an  archiepiscopal  pallium, 27  in  a  copy 28  of  that  Life  of 
the  saint  written  by  St.  Hildegarde.2^ 

Some  years  passed  after  the  death  of  our  saint,  and  according  to  his  pre- 
diction during  life,  the  calamities  and  rapine  of  war,  fell  upon  those  Rhenish 
provinces  around  Dysenburg.  Knowing  the  hill  upon  which  it  had  been 
built  to  be  a  strong  and  steep  defensive  position,  the  chiefs  and  people  of 
that  district  fled  thither  and  occupied  it,  much  to  the  discomfort  and  against 
the  remonstrances  of  the  monks.  This  seems  to  have  happened,  when 
Charles  Martel,  after  the  death  of  Chilperic  II.30  invaded  Germany,  and 
passed  over  the  Rhine,  in  725,  with  a  large  army.  The  hill  was  then  forti- 
fied and  garrisoned  by  warriors,  who  hoped,  through  the  natural  strength  of 
their  cantonments  there,  as  also  through  the  protection  of  Blessed  Dysibod, 

qui    locus  postea  a  suo  nomine,   Mons   S.  a6  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii 

Disibodi  dictus  est,  et  miraculis  clarus  in  viii.     De  S.  Disibodo  Episc.  et  Confess,  in 

pace  quievit."  Dysenberg,    Territorii  Moguntini,    in  Ger- 

16  He  has  it  "  S.  Disibodi  episcopi  Trans-  mania.  Commentarius  Praevius,  sect,  iii., 
latio."  pp.  586,  587. 

17  Edition  of  Lubec  and  Cologne.  27  It  is  remarked,  by  the  Bollandist  writer, 

18  Thus  :  "Ipso  die,  beati  Disibodi,  epis-  that  although  he  is  believed  to  have  come 
copi  et  confessoris."  from  Ireland  in  the  seventh   century,  that 

19  Thus:  "cujus  festum  agitur  VIII.  there  were  then  no  archbishops  in  our 
Junii." — "  De   Viris    Illustribus   Ordinis  S.       Island. 

Benedicti,"lib.  iii.,  cap.  288.  28  This  is  assigned  to  the  twelfth  century, 

20  In  "  Martyroloyium  Gallicanum."  and  the  figures  of  this  saint,  repeated  in  six 

21  In  his  "  Martyrologium  Anglicanum."  different  places,  are  supposed  to  represent 

22  See  "  Apologia  pro  Hibernia,"  cap.  iv.,  pretty  accurately  the  episcopal  habit  of  that 
p.  44.  period. 

^  23  Thus  :  "  In  Monte  S.  Disibodi,  deposi-  2*  The  Bollandists  give  a  copperplate  en- 

tio   ejusdem  Disibodi   episcopi,   qui  relict©  graving,  representing  St.  Disibod,    in  three 

episcopatu,  factus  est  monachorum  Pater  in  different  attitudes.     In  one,  he  is  laid  in  an 

dicecesi  Moguntina."  ornamented   coffin   or  tomb.      See    "Acta 

24  See  "  Historic  Catholicae  Ibernise  Com-  Sanctorum,"  tomus  viii.  Propylaeum  Maii. 
pendium,"  tomusi.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.xi.,  xii.,  pp.  Conatus  Chrono-Historicus  ad  Catalogum 
SO,  53.  Pontificum,  pars  i.,  p.  209. 

25  See  tome  iii.,  Sept.  viii.,  pp.  67  to  69.  3°  This  crent  occurred  a.d.  720. 


158  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


that  they  might  be  saved  from  the  fury  of  a  cruel  tyrant.  Not  over  scrupulous 
in  his  greed  for  spoil,  Charles  Martel  plundered  the  monastery,  and  divided 
a  good  portion  of  its  accumulated  lands  among  some  of  his  adherents.  How- 
ever, it  was  not  possible  for  the  congregation  of  monks  to  remain  there  in 
the  peaceful  and  unfettered  practice  of  their  religious  services.  It  was 
resolved,  with  the  advice  of  the  chiefs  and  people,  that,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  perfect  and  self-sacrificing  men,  who  should  remain  at  the  tomb  of  their 
holy  Patron,  the  rest  ought  to  divide  themselves  and  seek  places  of  residence 
in  more  distant  places.  It  pleased  God,  that  those  evils  of  war  did  not  endure 
for  a  long  time,  and  the  province  was  again  freed  from  its  former  enemies  and 
oppressors.  Accordingly,  the  exiled  monks  were  brought  back,  when  all 
that  had  been  built  on  the  mountain  was  restored  to  them  ;  and,  in  addition, 
they  obtained  more  ample  endowments  in  land,  than  they  had  at  first.  Thus 
seemed  literally  to  be  fulfilled  the  prophecy  pronounced  by  St.  Dvsibod.  To 
the  wickedness  and  barbarous  habits  of  men  at  this  time  is  ascribed  the 
decline  of  miracles  at  the  saint's  tomb.  Only  occasionally  were  these  wonders 
wrought.  Wherefore,  the  chief  persons  of  that  district,  lay  and  ecclesiastic, 
took  counsel  together,  and  requested  St.  Boniface,  then  Bishop  of  Mayence, 
that  a  solemn  Translation  of  St.  Dysibod's  relics  should  take  place.  His  con- 
sent having  been  obtained,  and  a  day  being  named  for  that  ceremony,  a  great 
conflux  of  people  came  to  meet  St.  Boniface,  who  solemnly  officiated  on  the 
occasion.  To  prevent  those  precious  relics  from  passing  out  of  their  hands, 
with  those  portions  of  their  territory  that  were  not  consecrated  directly  to 
God,  the  monks  approached  the  tomb  and  reverently  lifted  the  bones  of 
Disibod  from  their  first  resting  place  in  the  oratory,  and  then  laid  them  in 
the  Kloster  Kerche,  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  looking  westwardly.  The 
lifting  and  re-interment  took  place  in  754.  These  ceremonies  were  conducted 
with  extraordinary  ecclesiastical  magnificence,  in  presence  of  St.  Boniface^1 
all  present  singing  Psalms  and  Hymns.  The  body  was  deposited  in  a  suita- 
ble shrine.  On  this  occasion,  likewise,  great  miracles  were  wrought,  and 
again  the  supernatural  fragrance  was  experienced  by  all  those  who  were  pre- 
sent. Wherefore,  the  annual  return  of  that  day  was  regarded  as  one  of  great 
devotion  throughout  the  whole  province,  and  crowds  of  people  visited  the 
tomb  of  St.  Dysibod,  bringing  with  them  oblations,  while  they  engaged  in 
prayer.  The  monks  afterwards  lived  for  many  years  in  peace,  preserving  a 
great  reverence  for  their  patron  and  serving  God.  They  were  greatly  loved 
by  the  people,  and  as  a  result,  large  presents  and  endowments  were  made  to 
the  monastery,  so  that  the  inmates  were  enriched  with  worldly  goods  and 
possessions. 

This  state  of  affairs  continued  for  a  long  lapse  of  years,  but  disturbances 
once  more  took  place,  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The  chiefs  and  princes 
there  began  to  hanker  for  some  of  the  monastic  lands,  and  began  to  question 
the  monks'  validity  of  title,  while  they  represented  to  Charlemagne,  then 
wielding  supreme  power,  that  oppressed  as  the  nobility  had  been  in  bearing 
the  brunt  of  war  and  the  heavy  charges  thereon,  they  had  neither  money  nor 
means  to  serve  the  kingdom  nor  to  render  themselves  useful  as  his  subjects. 
They  insinuated,  likewise,  that  as  the  monks  should  serve  God  and  not  the 
world,  they  had  a  superfluity  of  riches,  which  might  better  be  distributed. 
Accurately  divining  their  motives  for  this  complaint,  the  politic  and  just  king, 
with  hardly  dissembled  sarcasm,  replied,  that  what  the  faithful  had  span- 


s'He  had  been  already  appointed  by  Pope         32  This  was  Otho  I.,  whose  reign  dates 
Zachary  to  the  See  of  Mainz,   as   its   first       from  A.D.  961. 
Archbishop,  A. d.  751.  3 t  This  was  Hatto  II.— at  first  abbot  of 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  159 


taneously  given  to  those  monks,  in  the  shape  of  lands  or  other  goods,  he  had 
no  right  to  take  from  them.  This  pronouncement  from  so  powerful  a  monarch 
was  a  reproof  they  well  understood,  and  accordingly,  if  their  covetous  desires 
were  not  repressed,  their  action  to  give  them  effect  altogether  failed. 

The  Norman  Invasion  followed,  about  880.  Then,  Kreuznach  and  the 
palace  of  the  Frankish  kings,  as  also  Mainz,  Worms,  Odernheim,  and  all  the 
surrounding  country,  were  taken  and  laid  in  ashes.  About  the  year  900, 
still  more  ferocious  hordes  of  Hungarians  broke  into  the  Empire.  These  laid 
waste  Alsace,  Neustria,  and  more  particularly  the  Rheinland,  with  a  horrid 
cruelty,  the  monkish  chronicles  can  hardly  find  words  to  depict,  in  sufficiently 
lurid  colours. 

After  a  long  lapse  of  time,  and  under  another  German  Emperor,32  descen- 
dants of  the  aforesaid  chiefs,  who  had  importuned  Charlemagne,  addressed 
their  complaints  to  the  sovereign,  and  asserted,  that  the  monks  of  Disenberg 
possessed  the  lands  and  properties  of  their  ancestors,  and  they  knew  not 
by  what  right.  He  lent  a  ready  ear  to  their  assertions,  and  appointed  a 
commission  of  enquiry.  Understanding  what  should  please  the  Emperor  and 
the  chiefs,  the  commissioners  soon  managed  to  obtain  much  false  and  con- 
cocted testimony  ;  while,  as  might  be  expected,  their  interests  and  prejudices 
urged  them  to  frame  a  report,  which  pronounced,  that  the  monks  held  lands 
without  Imperial  charter  or  concession.  It  is  stated,  that  the  Bishop  of 
Maintz33  was  an  accomplice  in  this  proceeding.  Accordingly,  the  courtier 
judges  unjustly  deciding,  and  the  imperial  decree  having  gone  forth,  the 
monks  of  Disenburg  were  deprived  of  their  lands  and  finely  cultivated  farms. 34 
Borne  down  with  the  weight  of  this  cruel  and  wicked  persecution,  as  also 
having  their  possessions  ravaged  through  the  devastation  caused  by  the  past 
and  impending  wars,  while  bemoaning  their  destitute  condition,  the  plundered 
monks  were  obliged  to  leave  their  beloved  monastery  and  to  wander  else- 
where as  exiles.  To  prevent  them  from  ever  returning,  the  aforesaid  unjust 
invaders  of  their  rights  levelled  their  habitations  to  the  ground,  excepting 
only  the  consecrated  church  in  which  the  bones  of  St.  Dysibod  had  been  laid 
after  their  Translation.  Notwithstanding,  lest  that  place  should  be  left  without 
the  Divine  offices  celebrated,  one  priest  was  appointed  to  look  after  that  church 
and  the  spiritual  interest  of  those  people  attending  it.  Out  of  its  former 
ample  revenues,  even  he  was  not  awarded  a  decent  allowance  for  his  support. 
Thus,  for  a  long  time,  the  place  seemed  abandoned  to  desolation.  This 
wretched  provision  for  religious  services  continued,  until  a  certain  noble  and 
rich  Count  of  that  province  and  named  Liuthard,  seeing  that  steep  and 
charming  mountain  abandoned  as  it  had  been,  conceived  a  desire  to  do 
honour  to  its  holy  Patron,  by  making  a  provision  for  three  priests  to  reside 
there. 35  Afterwards,  in  the  year  976,36  a  certain  Bishop  of  Maintz,  named 
Willigisus,37  pious,  humble  and  contrite  of  heart,  having  made  a  pilgrimage 
to  the  tomb  of  St.  Dysibod,  began  to  restore  the  place  to  something  like  its 
former  splendour.  He  resolved  to  give  back  some  of  those  farms,  which  formerly 
belonged  to  the  monastery,  and  which  he  then  held  in  possession.     He  had 

Fulda— who  did  not  long  continue  Bishop,  3*  This  spoliation  took   place  about  the 

as  Serarius  shows,  and  who  died  a.d.  970,  year  968. 

according  to  Marianus  Scotus.     He  was  re-  35  To  about  the  year  970,  this  partial   en- 

markable  for  his  extreme  avarice  and  unpopu-  dowment  may  be  referred. 

larity.     See  "Nouvelle   Biographie   Gene-  &  This  is  the  date  given   by  Marianus 

rale,"  tome  xxiii.,  cols.  541,  542.  He  is  said  Scotus. 

to  have  been  devoured  by  rats.    This  legend  37  See  Mabillon's  "  Annales   Ordinis   S. 

is  related  in  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould's  "  (Juri-  Benedicti,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  xvi.,  sect,  xliv., 

ous  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages,"   Second  p.  523. 

Series,  pp.  182  to  205.  3*  Under  this  year,  Trithemius  places  the 


160  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


another  project  in  view,  to  serve  that  place.  The  monastery  church  of  St. 
Disibod  was  afterwards  erected  into  a  Collegiate  Church  of  Canons,  in  the 
diocese  of  Mentz,  and  that  bishop  raised  the  number  of  servitors  to  twelve, 
so  that  they  should  be  regarded  as  an  Apostolic  College. 

But  further  benefits  and  glories  were  destined  for  Disenberg,  when 
another  prudent  and  worthy  Bishop  of  Maintz,  named  Ruthard,  resolved  to 
establish  the  discipline  and  rule  of  St.  Benedict  there.  He  provided  else- 
where for  the  secular  canons,  and  thus  arranged  matters  for  the  mutual  satis- 
faction of  both  communities.  He  selected  Burchard,  Abbot  of  the  great 
monastery  of  St.  James  at  Maintz,  to  become  first  superior  over  the  new 
monastery,  which  was  to  be  founded  at  Disenberg.  The  first  stone  of  the 
great  church  ot'  this  monastery  was  laid  on  the  30th  of  June,  and  it  was  built 
by  Archbishop  Ruthard,  as  stated,  from  a.d.  1108  38  to  n  12.  It  was  in  the 
form  of  a  cross — the  principal  entrance  to  the  west — at  the  east  end  arose 
the  high  altar,  with  two  smaller  altars,  beside  it.39  These  with  the  transepts 
formed  the  cross.  The  nave  contained  a  double  row  of  pillars,  supporting 
the  vaulted  roof.  Towards  the  north-east  side  of  the  great  church  stood  the 
Mary  chapel — probably  the  oldest  portion  of  the  ruins.  Over  against  it  was 
a  range  of  buildings,  comprehending  the  refectory  and  cells  of  the  monks. 
To  find  space  for  these  buildings,  they  had  to  construct  a  double  vaulting, 
on  the  slope  of  that  hill,  on  which  the  buildings  themselves  rested.*0  Beyond 
the  church,  and  towards  the  north,  was  a  passage,*1  by  which  the  monks 
came  from  the  cloisters  in  procession  on  great  occasions.  To  the  right  of 
this  are  the  remains  of  the  chapel-house/2  Beyond  that  was  the  Kloster 
garden. <3  To  the  west  lay  the  abbot's  apartments."  To  the  right  stood  the 
high  church  of  the  monastery.^  Before  entering  at  the  old  door  of  the 
monastery,  a  little  chapel  is  on  the  outside.*6 

The  country  about  here  is  described  as  covered  with  impenetrable  forests, 
tangled  with  thorns  and  brambles,  during  the  early  and  middle  ages.  Here 
and  there  were  desert  tracts,  while  human  habitations  were  far  asunder,  and 
travelling  through  it  was  difficult.  Thus  it  became  a  great  object  with  the 
monks  of  Disibodenbcrgto  facilitate  attendance  at  public  worship.  At  what 
seem  to  be  very  short  intervals,  they  built  little  forest  chapels,  the  attendance 
at  which  they  undertook,  as  a  service  in  connexion  with  their  order.  Those 
good  fathers  had  many  vineyards  along  the  sunny  slopes  of  the  Nahe,  espe- 
cially at  Monzigen,  at  Nahrhenn,  and  at  other  places.  Most  probably,  these 
spots  owe  their  strong  and  lively  wines  of  to-day  to  the  assiduous  culture  of 
their  vineyards  by  the  monks  of  Disibodenberg.     Brambles,  too,  were  in 

restoration,  in  his  "Chronicon  Hirsaugien-  4a  In  which  are  gravestones  belonging  to 

sis. "  some  of  the  Abbots. 

39  There  were  ten  altars  or  chapels  round  **  In  the  middle  of  it  was  a  cistern,  into 
that  church,  founded  by  the  nobles  and  which  water  was  brought  by  pipes  from  the 
Ritterschaft  of  the  surrounding  country.  In  Kloster  mills  higher  up  the  Glan,  and  at  the 
return  for  these  foundations,  they  received  southern  foot  of  the  hill. 

family  burial-places  in  the  area  of  the  church,  44  These  commanded  from  the  abbey  bal- 

as  the  many  existing  gravestones  show.  cony  a  splendid  outlook  down  the   Nathe- 

40  Further  east  are  the  remains  of  the  abbey       thai. 

smithy,  and  of  other  useful  buildings  with  a  4*  There  is  a  little  chapel  remaining  still — 

second   cistern.      The  rain-water   from  the  probably  the  mortuary  chapel. 

Kloster  buildings  was  collected  into  a  sub-  *6  About  its  origin  or  purposes  no  accounts 

terranean  vault  with  a  double  coating  of  ce-  can  be  given.    The  threshold  of  the  old  gate 

ment,  and  after  settling  there,  it  was  led  into  is  still  observable. 

this  cistern  for  use.    Somewhat  behind  this  *  It  is  recorded,  they  made  from  these  a 

there  is  a  subterranean  cell.  jelly  for  table  use,  as  also  cordials  for  the 

41  There  are  still  many  gravestones  of  the  sick. 

monks  all  along  this  passage.  4"  They  drew  whatever  they  could  get,    n 


July  8.]  LIVES  OE  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  161 


request.**  Even  in  such  a  wilderness,  they  lvd  tithes  of  certain  products.*8 
To  their  credit  be  it  told,  moreover,  the  Benedictines  in  Disibodenberg  were 
great  cultivators  of  letters.4' 

While  Conon,s°  the  fourth  Abbot  ot  this  new  foundation  ruled  there,  a 
transference  of  our  saint's  relics  was  resolved  on;  and  accordingly,  Dom. 
Gerard,  Abbot  of  St.  Maximinus,  and  Dom.  Bernhelm,  the  first  Abbot  of 
Spanheim,  with  all  his  congregation,  having  been  summoned  for  the  occasion, 
on  the  Parasceve  of  the  Pasch,  and  on  the  Kalends  of  April,  in  the  year  1 138, 
the  grave  of  Disibod  was  opened,  in  that  old  monastery,  where  his  remains 
had  been  deposited  by  Archbishop  Willegis.  The  following  year,  11 39,  on 
the  Kalends  of  November,  and  by  the  same  Abbot  Conon,  his  relics  were 
transferred  to  the  new  church,  built  in  Disibodenberg,  by  Archbishop 
Ruthard.  Four  years  afterwards,  a.d.  1143,51  the  new  monastery  and  its 
principal  altar  were  solemnly  dedicated,  by  Henry,  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  in 
honour  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  His  glorious  Mother,  as  also  of  the 
Blessed  John  the  Evangelist,  and  of  the  Most  Holy  Father  Disibod,  confessor 
and  pontiff.  On  the  same  day  and  year,  in  the  vestibule  of  that  monastery,  an 
altar  was  dedicated  by  the  aforesaid  Archbishop,  in  honour  of  the  Most  Vic- 
torious Cross  and  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  On  the  iii.  of  the  October  Kalends, 
the  same  Prelate  had  the  remains  of  St.  Dysibod  collected  into  two  little 
leaden  caskets,52  and  he  deposited  them  in  a  marble  sarcophagus,"  which 
rested  on  pillars  behind  the  high  altar.  During  the  centuries  that  have  elapsed 
since  the  time  of  our  saint,  a  large  portion  of  the  history  of  Disibodenberg 
oscillates  between  the  nobles  and  ritters  robbing  the  monastery  of  its  lands, 
and  their  bestowing  renewed  donations  for  its  support.  However,  the  sar- 
cophagus of  the  saint  and  its  caskets  have  disappeared,  while  the  sacred  dust 
of  Disibod  has  long  been  blown  about  the  world.  For  more  than  three 
hundred  years  after  the  time  of  St.  Disibod,  the  Benedictines  held  possession 
of  this  monastery  at  Disenberg ;  but,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  it  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  Cistercians.54 

The  Reformation  period  of  its  history  is  also  full  of  incidents.55    The 
Kloster  itself  was  not  free  from  the  new  heresy.56    But  the  commencement 


the  shape  of  pitch  and  resin,  which  were  em-  S3  A  stone  with  an  inscription  formed  part 

ployed  in  lighting  their  churches.  They  pro-  of  this  sarcophagus. 

cured  beeswax  for  which  they  found  many  54  go  states  John   of  Trittenheim  —born 

ecclesiastical    uses,   and  wild   honey,    with  there  1st  of  February,   1462,    and  who  died 

which   they  made  many  kinds  of  confec-  Abbot  of  St.  James,  at  Wurtzburg,  27th  of 

tionery,  and  also  corrected  the  acidity  of  their  December,  15 16 — in  his  work,   "  De  Viris 

wines.  Illustribus   Ordinis  S.   Benedicti,"  lib.  iii., 

4»  They  boasted  of  one  name,  that  is  not  cap.  288. 

even  yet  forgotten,  by  those  who  take  an  in-  ss  Johannes  Schwebel,  the  re$>rmer  of  the 

terest  in  the  history  of  mediaeval  literature,  Zweibrucken  country,   found  refuge    there, 

viz.,  Petrus  a  Roberiis,  or  Peter  of  Retiborn.  when  driven  from  his  native  town  of  Pfors- 

While  only  a  common  monk  of  Disiboden-  heim,    between    Mannheim    and    Banden. 

berg,  on  account  of  his  great  learning,  he  had  With  the  celebrated   Franz  von  Sickingen, 

been  elevated  by  Pope  Boniface  IX.  to  the  at  Ebernburg,  he  spent  a  whole  year.  There, 

Bishopric  of  Samaria.  too,  were  TJlrich  von  Hutten,  Bucar,  Aquila, 

'•He  departed  this  life  on  the  vi.  of  the  and  CEcolampadius,  engaged  mainly  in  study- 
July  Nones,  A.D.  1155,  according  to  Dode-  ingtheBible,  bythe  light  of  Luther'snewdoc- 
chinus,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Abbot  trine.  Franz  sent  him  with  a  letter  of  re- 
Helinger,  who  urged  the  Abbess  Hi Idegarde  commendation  to  Duke  Ludwig  II.,  of 
to  write  the  Acts  of  St.  Disibod.  Zweibrucken.    Not  long  after,   the  Zweib- 

SI  Dodechinus  states  it,  "Hoc  anno,  In-  rucken  Duchy,  with  its  Duke,  became  Pro- 

dictione  VI. v  testant. 

s*  Dodechinus  states:    "altero    eorum,  s6  The  whole  of  the  monks  left  it  except 

scilicet  minore,  ossa  continente,  altero  ma-  the  abbot  and  one  monk.  In  1559,  the  abbot 

jore  cinires."  surrendered  it,  with  all  its  belongings,  to  the 


102  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  saw  its  old  possessors  reinstated  by  the  Marquis 
Spinola.  In  1631,  the  monks  were  driven  out  again  by  the  Rheingraf  Otto 
Ludwig,  under  the  wing  of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  At  the  peace  of  Westphalia, 
Disibodenberg  again  reverted  to  the  Catholics. 

In  their  turn,  the  Cistercians  lost  possession  of  Disenberg,  and  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  secular  Canons  are  found  to  be  in  occupation,5?  which 
state  of  things  prevailed  in  the  early  and  middle  period  of  the  last  century.s8 
During  the  French  Revolution,  that  establishment  was  consficated  to  the 
Republic,  and  sold  by  auction  for  a  few  hundred  francs,  to  the  ancestors  of 
its  present  possessors.5?  The  ruins  of  the  ancient  monastery  of  Disiboden- 
berg lie  near  the  little  town  of  Staudernheim,  a  railway  station  some  forty 
minutes  distant  from  Kreuznach,  and  just  on  the  confines  of  Rhenish  Prussia 
and  the  Bavarian  Palatinate.  The  line  of  boundary  posts,  between  the  two, 
crosses  that  road  which  leads  from  Staudernheim,  on  the  Prussian  territory, 
to  Disibodenberg,  which  is  on  the  Bavarian  side.  The  ruins  are  situated  on  the 
flat  top  of  a  hill,  which  rises  out  of  the  level  land,  and  which  occupies  the 
angle,  formed  by  the  Nahe.  At  this  point,  the  river  flows  from  west  to  east, 
and  the  Glan,  one  of  its  tributaries,  flows  in  a  direction,  a  little  to  the  east  of 
north.  The  greater  part  of  the  flat  hill-top  must  have  been  occupied  by 
buildings  and  by  courts,  during  the  last  century,  although  we  can  find  few 
accounts  of  its  condition  at  the  time,  probably  owing  to  the  fact,  that  the 
ecclesiastics  who  served  there  lived  in  quiet  and  retirement,  thus  passing  an 
uneventful  career.  During  the  troublous  times  which  preceded  and  followed 
the  French  Revolution,  the  buildings  were  torn  to  pieces  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  surrounding  district,  who  made  Disibodenberg  a  quarry  for  dressed 
stones.60  Gradually  its  buildings  came  to  a  state  of  complete  ruin.  The 
cloister  bells  went  partly  to  Odernheim,  and  partly,  including  the  great  bell 
cast  in  1382,  to  the  church  of  Meisenheim,  in  Glanthal.61  The  remains  of 
Disibodenberg  are  still  considerable,  and  they  show,  that  it  must  in  its  prime 
have  been  of  great  extent.62 

The  view  from  different  points  around  Disenberg  is  various  and  charming. 
On  the  north-west,  the  Nahe  pours  itself  down  in  picturesque  windings 
through  the  hills  into  the  valley.  From  the  south,  comes  the  Glan  to  meet 
it,  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  hill.  Right  opposite  towers  Lemberg  in  majestic 
repose — monarch  of  the  landscape — with  the  hamlet  of  Duckroth  at  its  feet. 
Farther  to  the  north  rises  the  Gangelsberg.63  Towards  the  south  side  of  the 
Abbey,  there  is  a  magnificent  view.     You  look  westward  into  the  pleasant 


Duke.     He  dedicated   it,  together  with  the  it  a  favourite  place  for  excursions,   among 

Klosters    of  Hornbach,    Wersweiler,    and  the  strangers  who  come  to  Kreuznach. 

Offenbach  to  the  public  worship  in  Zweib-  ^  The  new  piers  of  Staudernheim  Bridge 

rucken,  to  the  establishment  of  schools  at  were  built  out  of  its  spoils.     All  the  houses 

Hornsbach,  and  to  other  like  purposes.     He  at  that  period  in  Odernheim,  Standernheim, 

was  a  little  more  conscientious  in  dealing  and  even  as  far  as  Brockelheim,  were  built 

with     the    windfalls   of  Church    property,  out  of  the  wrecked   Disibodenberg  monas- 

which  the   Reformation    brought   into    his  tcry. 

hands,    than  were  the  English,  Irish    and  il  This  is  an  old  church,  where  the  Stalz- 

Scotch  nobles  of  the  Reformation.  graten  of  the  Rhei  and  many  noble  families 

s?  See   Mabillon's    "  Annales   Ordinis    S.  are  buried.    It  is  worth  a  visit,   on  account 

Benedicti,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  xvi.,  sect,  xliv.,  of  the  tower  of  its  church,  which  is  a  beauti- 

p.  523.  ful  specimen  of  architecture. 

s"  See  the  Bollandists'  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  62  Indeed,  the  lordly  list  of  its  possessions, 

tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.     De  S.  Disibodo  Epis.  and  the  bead-roll  of  its  benefactors  for  cen- 

et  Confess,  in  Dysenberg,  Territorii  Mogun-  turies,  might  lead  one  to  expect  such  a  con- 

tini,  in  Germania.     Commentarius  Praevius,  dition. 

sect,  i,,  pp.  581  to  583.  63  On  it  stood  a  signal-tower,  when  this 

59  These  have  done  a  great  deal  to  make  part  of  the  country  belonged  to  the  French. 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  163 


Nahethal.  Staudernheim,  with  its  romantically  situated  mills,  lies  below. 
Westward  appears  Sobernheim,6*  and  further  on  the  old  town  of  Monzi^en.65 
On  the  right  bank  of  the  Nahe,  and  resting  on  the  mountain  side,  is  the 
hamlet  of  Middersheim ;  and,  where  the  valley  closes,  Merrheim,  not  far 
from  the  stately  ruins  of  the  Schloss  Dhaun.  On  a  clear  day,  these  can  be 
distinctly  made  out,  and  crowning  their  wooded  height.  These,  too,  carry  us 
back  to  the  early  Wildgrafen  66  and  Nahgangrafen — almost  coeval  with  the 
foundation  of  Disibodenberg.  In  the  middle  of  the  valley,  on  the  Nath,  are 
clustered  the  mills  and  barns  of  Sobernheim.  From  another  point,  you  have 
a  view  up  the  valley  of  the  Glan,  so  far  as  the  ancient  town  of  Odernheim. 
Nearer  still  are  the  old  Kloster  mills.  Such  is  the  scenery,  with  which  the 
modern  tourist  often  renders  himself  familiar,  and  it  is  intimately  associated 
with  St.  Dysibod's  name  and  missionary  labours. 


Article  III. — St.  Diarmaid,  Bishop  of  Gleam-Uissean,  now  Kille- 
SHIN,  Queen's  County.  That  Gleann-Uissean  had  been  a  place  of  impor- 
tance in  pagan  history  is  not  improbable  ;  and,  at  the  present  time,  a  remark- 
able artificial  and  cone-shaped  mound  is  to  be  seen  on  the  sloping  upland, 
which  gradually  ascends  to  the  summit  of  Clogrennan  mountain.  It  rises  on 
the  south  side  of  the  road,  which  leads  from  the  town  of  Carlow  to  the  collie- 
ries, in  the  Queen's  County.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  are  the  ancient 
cemetery  and  ruined  church  of  Killeshin,  also  rising  high  over  the  same  road, 
which  winds  through  a  deep  cut  beneath.  At  a  lower  level  still,  and  bound- 
ing the  cemetery  on  the  northern  side,  is  a  rapid  stream,  which  falls  through 
a  very  romantic  glen,  and  in  a  succession  of  small  cascades,  almost  buried 
from  view,  unless  the  pilgrim  desires  to  clamber  down  into  that  ravine,  where 
the  water  has  hollowed  out  its  course.  The  situation  is  still  surrounded  with 
natural  charms  ;  but,  we  know  not  at  what  remote  date  in  Christian  times,  it 
had  been  selected  as  the  site  for  a  religious  foundation.  It  seems  to  be  well 
established,  however,  that  the  present  holy  man,  St.  Diarmaid,  must  have  pre- 
sided as  Abbot  there,  probably  before  the  eighth  century.  Were  we  to  accept 
one  statement,1  his  rule  should  be  referred  to  the  commencement  of  the  sixth 
century.  Still,  we  cannot  discover  on  what  authority  Colgan  makes  this 
saint  the  first  Abbot  over  Gleann-Ussein  monastery.2  He  seems,  however,  to 
have  followed  some  genealogical  or  other  historic  account ;  yet,  perhaps,  it 
has  been  inferred  from  notices,  in  two  of  our  earliest  preserved  calendars. 3 
Thus,  in  the  Feilire  *  of  St.  iEngus,  at  the  8th  of  July,  the  feast  of  this  saint 

64  Around  it,  tobacco  is  extensively  culti-  2  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum  Hiberniae,"  xxvii. 

vated.  Februarii,  Vita   S.  Comgani,  and  nn.  8,  9, 

63  The  vicinity  is  well  known  for  produc-  pp.  417,  418. 

ing  an  excellent  quality  of  wine.  3  These  known  as  the  Martyrology  of  Tal- 

66  To  its  feudal  lords,  in  the  early  middle  lagh  and  the  Feilire  of   St.  ^Engus,  coin- 
ages, it  gave  the  title  of  Wildgrafen.  These  nosed  originally  in  the  eighth,  or  at  latest 
were  distinguished  as  Comites   Salvagii,  or  early  in  the  ninth  century. 
Comites  Silvestres,  meaning  "Counts  of  the  4  From  the  Leabhar  Breac  copy  the  fol- 
Wildwood."  owing  stanza,  translated  by  Whitley  Stokes, 

Article  hi.—  «  That  of  Colgan,  he  sup-  LL.D.,  has  been  extracted  :— 
posing  the  St.  Comgan   referred  to  in  the 

Acts  of  St.  Ita — who  died  on  the  15th  of  Sab-Air5  brxocan  pcjubtiiT) 
January,  a.d.  569 — to  have  been  St.  Com-  SAepbuAit)  cenAch  cuifel 
gan,   Abbot  of  Gleann-Ussen.     The  latter  La  ,OiA|MnAic  tjepb  Ia|ja^ 
therefore  is  thought  to  have  died  before  St.  Stuan  gel  Sl/itroe  h  Uiffen. 
Ita,  and  it  is  asserted,  that  Diermait  pre- 
ceded him,  in  the  government  of  that  monas-  "  Brocan  the  scribe  won  a  noble  victory  with- 
tery.  out  any  fall,  with  Diarmait  a  sure  flame, 


164 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


[July  8. 


Diarmait  is  commemorated.  In  the  commentary  attached,  he  is  called  My- 
Dimdc  in  Ui-Bairrche,  and  we  are  informed,  that  he  was  formerly  in  Glenn 
Uissen,  before  Comgan.s  Again,  we  learn  that  veneration  was  given,  on  this 
day,  according  to  the  Martyrology  ofTallagh,6  to  Diarmait,  of  Glinne  hUisen. 
This  place  is  identical  with  the  present  Killeshin,  about  two  miles  west  of 
Carlow  town,  and  in  the  Queen's  County.  It  has  been  stated,  that  St.  Diar- 
maid  sprung  from  the  race  of  Cathaoir  M6r,  of  the  Lagenians.  His  father  is 
named  Sibrseus,  the  son  of  Dalian,  son  to  Ere,  son  of  Bracan,  son  to  Fieg, 
son  of  Daire,  surnamed  Barrach,  who  was  son  to  the  celebrated  Cathair  the 
Great,?  who  had  been  monarch  of  Erinn.  The  Rev.  John  Francis  Shearman, 
who  with  some  change  of  spelling,  very  closely  follows  the  foregoing  genea- 
logy, gives  Diarmaid  the  alternative  name  of  Momedoc,8  and  places  him  also 


Moat  of  Killeshin,  Queens  Comity. 


before  St.  Comgan,  as  Abbot  of  Glenuissin.  We  have  already  alluded  to  tins 
place,  and  to  its  historic  associations,  in  more  than  one  instance.*  I*  or  a 
succession  of  ages,  Killeshin  had  been  regarded  as  a  religious  centre,  and  its 
history  can  be  traced  very  fairly  through  the  ninth,  tenth  and  eleventh  cen- 
turies, from  various  entries  in  our  Annals,  and  which  prove  it  to  have  been  a 


bright  sun  of  Glenn  Uissen."— "Transac- 
tions of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish 
Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.  On  the 
Calendar  of  Oengus,  by  Whitley  Stokes. 
LL.D.,  pp.  cix.,  ex. 

5  See  ibid.,  p.  cxvii. 

6  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

'  According  to  the  Genealogic  Sanctilogy 
of  Ireland,  Dist.  vii.,  cap.  i. 

8  See  "  Loca  Patriciana,"  No.ix.,  No.  10. 
The  Genealogy  of  the  Ui  Bairrche,  p.  180. 
In  this  Genealogical  chart,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Shearman  has  one  additional  grade  in  the 
pedigree  of  our  saint. 


9  See  the  First  Volume  of  this  work,  at 
January  27th,  Art.  viii.,  and  the  Second 
Volume,  at  February  27th,  Art.  i. 

10  The  accompanying  sketch  by  the  author, 
and  drawn  on  the  spot,  September,  1889, 
was  taken  from  an  opposite  point  of  view  to 
that  presented  in  a  previous  illustration, 
given  at  the  27th  of  January.  The  present 
sketch  represents  the  large  moat  in  the  fore- 
ground, and  beyond  the  travelled  road,  the 
east  gable  of  Killeshin  old  church  in  the  dis- 
tance. This  sketch  has  been  transferred  by 
William  F.  Wakeman  to  the  wood,  engraved 
by  Mrs.  Millard. 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  165 


place  of  considerable  ecclesiastical  importance.  A  city  or  town  appears  to 
have  grown  around  the  church ;  but,  it  is  difficult  now  to  determine  the 
monks'  quarter,  which,  however,  according  to  a  prevailing  Irish  usage,  was 
quite  convenient  to  the  church.  Again,  as  in  so  many  other  instances  we  have 
found  throughout  Ireland,  the  large  circular  moat  was  in  close  proximity  with 
the  religious  establishment  ;10  yet,  whether  erected  for  purposes  of  defence, 
or  to  serve  a  different  end,  we  have  not  been  able  to  determine,  and  an 
examination  of  such  an  antiquarian  problem  must  continue  to  exercise  the 
research  and  ingenuity  of  ecclesiastical  and  secular  historical  investigators. 
It  seems  very  probable,  that  the  St.  Diarmaid,  commemorated  in  our  Calendars 
at  this  date,  had  been  the  original  founder  of  a  church  and  monastery 
here,11  and  that  he  presided  over  both  as  the  first  Abbot."  His  period,  how- 
ever, has  eluded  inquiry ;  nor  are  the  incidents  of  his  incumbency  known. 
Some  writers  think  this  saint  flourished  as  early  as  the  sixth  century,  and 
that  he  preceded  St.  Comgan^ — who  died  before  570 14 — in  the 
government  of  Gleann-Ussein  monastery.^  This  is  also  the  opinion  of 
Sirinus,  as  communicated  to  the  Bollandists,  who  have  notices  ofDiermetiiis 
of  Gleann-Ussein,  at  the  8th  of  July.16  Although  the  day  for  St.  Diarmaid's 
feast  has  been  assigned  to  the  8th  of  July,  yet  the  year  when  it  occurred  does 
not  appear  to  have  transpired.  The  present  saint  can  hardly  be  identical 
with  that  Diarmaid,  Abbot  of  Gleann-Uissean,  whose  death  is'recorded,  at 
the  year  874  ;•»  unless,  indeed,  we  could  imagine  some  interpolations  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Tallagh,  or  in  the  Feilire  of  St.  ^Engus.  It  is  evident,  more- 
over, that  the  last-named  Diarmaid  had  not  been  the  first  Abbot  over  Kille- 
shin.  The  fullest  and  most  exact  account  of  this  locality  and  of  its  history 
is  that  given  in  the  very  learned  and  valuable  work  of  the  Most  Rev  Michael 
Comerford,18  at  present  Coadjutor  Bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Kildare  and 
Leighlin.1^  The  earliest  annalistic  account  of  this  place,  we  find,  is  at  a.d. 
843,  when  Aedhan  of  Gleann-Uisean  died.*0  The  existing  ruins  denote  that 
class  of  structure,  known  as  Irish  Romanesque,  with  incised  mouldings  on 
the  west  door,31  and  these  date  probably  to  the  eleventh  century ;  the  pre- 
vious oratory  having  been  broken  down  in   1041  by  Mac  Moylnerao,  when 

11  Of  late,  the  ruins  have  been  repaired  and  he  adds,  that  this  saint  must  be  distin- 
but  hardly  well  restored,  by  the  Irish  Board  guished  from  Diermit  of  Inisclothran.  See 
of  Public  Works.  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  ii., 

12  We  have  already  seen,  that  a  local  tra-  chap,  x.,  sect,  xiv.,  p.  76,  and  n.  244,  p.  78, 
dition  assigned  the  foundation  of  Killeshin  to  ibid. 

M'Dermott-r-very  significantly  referring  to  l6  These  writers  add  :  "  Utcumque  fuerit, 

Diarmaid.  certus  est  Comgani  cultus,  ut  vide  xxvn. 

13  The  festival  of  this  holy  Abbot  is  refer-  Februarii,  non  ita  hujus  Diermitii  :  nisi  idem 
red  to  the  27th  of  February,  at  which  date  sit  cum  eo,  qui  in  nostris  Sanctorum  Hiber- 
are  some  observations  regarding  him,  in  the  norum  Catalogis  refertur  II,  et  in.  Augusti." 
Second  Volume  of  this,  work,  Art.  i.  Think-  — "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii. 
ing  him  to  have  lived  later  than  a  Diarmaid,  Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  p.  533. 
Abbot  of  Gleann-Uissean,  whose  death  is  set  1?  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "  Annals  of  the 
down  in  Dr.  O'Donovan's  "  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  520,  521. 

Four  Masters,"  at  A.D.  874,  vol.  i.,  pp.  520,  l8See  "Collections  relating  to  the  Dio- 

521  ;  we  have  deemed  that  Comgan  to  have  ceses  of  Kildare  and  Leighlin.''  Third  Series, 

been  his  successor  at  no  particular  date,  but  Diocese  of  Leighlin,  pp.  241  to  248. ' 

possibly  in  the  ninth  century.  Now,  as  both  I9  Consecrated,  New  Year's  Day,  1889,  by 

the   Diarmaid  and   Comgan  of   our    early  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  William 

Calendars,  and  mentioned  in  them,  must  have  J.  Walsh,  D.D.,  in  the  cathedral  of  Carlow. 

flourished  before  they  had  been  written,  both  20  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's   "Annals  of  the 

should  be  assigned  to  a  still  earlier  date.  Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  464,  465,  and  n. 

14  See  Colgan's  "  Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber-  (y),  ibid. 

niae,"  Februarii  xxvii.  Vita  S.  Comgani,  pp.  2I  Portions  of  these  are  set  forth  in  beauti- 

417,  418.  ful    engravings,     in    Miss    Stokes'     "Early 

l?  Dr.  Lanigan  follows  such  a  statement,       Christian  Art  in  Ireland,"  y.  187. 


166  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


he  seems  to  have  burnt  the  town  in  revenge  of  Fernamor.  Afterwards,  Gleann- 
Uisean,  with  its  yews,  was  burned,  a.d.  1077,  Dut  the  monastery  appears  to 
have  survived  the  many  vicissitudes  of  those  years.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century,  about  40  feet  of  the  eastern  part aa  had  been  converted  into  a 
modern  little  church  for  Protestant  services.33  Under  the  head  of  Glenn 
Uissen,  Duald  Mac  Firbis  enters  Diarmuid,  bishop  of  Glenn  Uissen,  at  July 
8th,  as  the  date  for  his  festival.24  His  name  occurs,  also,  in  the  Martyrology 
of  Donegal,2*  at  the  same  date.  There  he  is  entered,  as  Diarmaid,  Bishop, 
of  Gleann  Uissein,  in  Ui-Bairrche.  If  these  entries  be  correct,  he  would  seem 
to  have  united  in  his  person  the  episcopal  and  abbatial  functions. 


Article  IV. — St.  Summiva,  Sunnifa,  Sumniva,  or  Sunneva,  an  Irish 
Virgin,  Patroness  of  Bergen,  in  Norway,  and  her  Companions, 
Martyrs.  Some  proofs  of  Irish  Christian  influences  on  the  northern  coun- 
tries in  Europe  are  shown  from  the  account,  that  Summiva  or  Sunneva,  who 
was  born  in  Ireland,  must  have  visited  Norway  at  a  later  period.  She  was 
probably  connected  with  the  Norwegians  by  descent,  or  by  alliance.  In  the 
Norwegian  Calendars,  she  is  variedly  called  Sunnifa,  Summiva,  Sumniva, 
Suniva  and  Sunneva.  The  monk  Oddr  records  her  legend.1  In  Hermann 
Greven's  additions  to  the  Martyrology  of  Usuard,  her  name  seems  to  have 
been  first  published,3  and  at  this  date.  Molanus,  Canisius,3  Ferrarius,  and 
the  more  recent  Martyrologists,  borrowed  their  notices  of  her,  from  the  fore- 
going accounts.  Claude  Castellan  has  her  name  in  the  General  Index  *  to 
his  work,  the  Universal  Martyrology.  Her  history  is  little  known  ;  but,  if  we 
are  to  credit  the  statement  of  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould,  there  is  not  the  smallest 
foundation  for  this  story,  it  being  only  a  Scandinavian  version  of  the  Legend 
of  St.  Ursula  and  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins.s  At  the  8th  of  July,  the 
Bollandists  6  have  a  few  brief  notices  of  this  holy  virgin  and  of  her  com- 
panions. These  writers  found,  on  consulting  certain  northern  muniments,? 
that  under  the  name  of  Suniva,  herself  and  her  companions  had  been  formerly 
honoured  in  Sweden,  with  an  ecclesiastical  office.  In  an  old  Swedish  Missal,8 
there  is  a  Calendar  prefixed,  in  which  the  name  of  St.  Suniva  occurs,  at  the 
8th  of  July,  and  in  it  there  is  a  Mass  for  her,  with  this  title,  De  Sancta 
Suniva  Officium.9     Nor  is  it  to  be  supposed,  that  Greven  derived  his  state- 

23  This  portion  is  shown  in  the  accompany-  of  St.  Sumniva,  has  "  Sociorum,"  and  not 

ing  engraving.  ' '  Sociarum. ' ' 

23  See  "Collections  relating  to  the  Dio-  4  There  he  implies  a  want  of  certainty,  for 

cese  of  Kildare  and  Leighlin,"  Third  Series.  the   introduction  of  Summiva    among    his 

Diocese  of  Leighlin.  By  the  Rev.  M.  Comer-  Martyrs. 

ford,  M.R.I.A.,  p.  244.     Annexed  is  a  beau-  5  See  "Lives  of  the  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July 

tiful  drawing  of  the  west  door  of  Killeshin  8th,  pp.  195  to  197. 

old   church,    by   Rev.   E.    O'Leary,    litho-  6    See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

graphed  by  Morison  &  Co.,  Dublin.  Julii  viii.     De  S.  Summiva  Virg.  et  Martyre, 

2+  See   "  Proceedings  of  the   Royal  Irish  cum   Sociis    vel  Sociabus,  in  Norvegia,  p. 

Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i.,  649. 

part  i.,  pp.  112,  113.  7  There  is  a  Latin  fragment  of  the  Church 

:ted  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  Office  and  Lections  regarding  these  Virgins 

i£8,  189.  and  Martyrs,  in  "  Scriptores  Rerum  Danica- 

Article   IV. — '  In  the   Saga  of    King  rum,"  tomus  vi.,  pp.  3,  4,  and  14  to  22. 

Olaf,  the  younger  Olafs  Saga  Tryggvasonar,  8  It  is  distinguished  as  Missale  Votivale. 

chap.  106-8.  and  149.  The  writer  flourished  This  was  printed   towards  the  close  of  the 

in  the  twelfth  century.  fifteenth  or  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 

2  Thus  :  "  Sumnivse  virginis  et  sociorum  tury. 

ejus  martyrum  :  qui  de  Hibernia  egressi,  in  »  Some  extracts  from  it  are  furnished,  by 

Norbegia  coronas  martyrii  assecuti  sunt."  the  Hollandists. 

J  Canisius,  in  alluding  to  the  companions  ,0  See  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould's   "  Lives  of 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  167 


ment  solely  from  this  authority.  The  age  and  acts  of  St.  Summiva  and  of  her 
companions  do  not  appear  to  be  known,  with  anything  which  approaches  to 
certainty.  However,  a  sort  of  tradition  records,  that  she  was  a  beautiful  Scottish 
virgin,  and  the  daughter  of  a  king  who  lived  in  Ireland,  in  the  days  of  Earl 
Hako.  With  seven  other  pious  virgins,  she  had  been  captured  by  the  tyranni- 
cal and  pagan  Northmen,  who  invaded  Ireland.  By  these  pirates,  they  were 
taken  as  captives,  and  brought  into  Norway.  According  to  the  Legend, 
Sunnifa  was  endowed  with  wealth,  beauty  and  great  Christian  piety ;  but,  a 
northern  viking  hearing  of  her  charms  and  accomplishments  became 
enamoured,  resolving  to  go  in  quest  of  her.  That  viking  landed  on  the  coasts 
of  Ireland,  and  he  sought  the  king,  who  hesitated  to  accept  his  suit  for  the 
hand  of  Sunnifa.  The  tyrant  thereupon  harried  the  whole  country,  and  he 
set  flames  to  every  house.  At  last,  to  save  her  native  island  from  devastation 
by  the  cruel  suitor,  the  princess  expressed  her  determination  to  leave  Ireland. 
The  Saga  has  it,  that  her  brother  Alban(?)  and  a  multitude  of  virgins  joined. 
All  sailed  away  eastwards,  and  trusting  to  the  guidance  of  Divine  Providence. 
They  came  ashore  on  the  Island  of  Selja,in  Norway,  and  finding  it  uninhabited, 
they  settled  in  the  caves,  and  lived  upon  fishes.  However,  the  islet  served 
as  a  pasture  for  cattle  in  summer.  When  the  farmers  on  the  mainland  saw 
those  people  on  that  island,  they  appealed  to  Earl  Hako  to  protect  their  cattle. 
Gathering  some  armed  men,  Earl  Hako  rowed  to  the  island.  The  Christian 
maidens  fled  into  the  caves  on  his  approach.  They  prayed  God  to  preserve 
them.  Accordingly,  the  rock  closed  upon  them,  and  they  came  forth  no 
more  alive.10  In  Norway,  according  to  another  account,  St.  Sunnifa  and  her 
companions  were  greatly  distinguished  for  their  innocence  of  life,  for  their 
love  of  chastity,  and,  it  is  even  said,  for  their  miracles.  It  is  related,  likewise, 
that  through  their  good  example  and  holy  conversation,  some  Norwegians 
had  been  converted  to  Christ.11  Their  Legend  states,  that  during  the  reign 
of  Olaf  Tryggvason,  a  farmer  found  a  human  head  on  the  Island  of  Selja, 
and  it  was  surrounded  by  a  phosphoric  light.  This  emitted  an  agreeable 
odour.  He  at  once  took  it  to  the  king,  who  submitted  it  to  Bishop  Sigurd. 
Both  recognised  the  evidences  of  sanctity,  and  then  they  went  together  to 
the  island.  There,  they  discovered  the  cave  filled  with  the  bones  I2  of  the 
saintly  refugees.  How  they  found  out,  that  those  were  Irish,  that  their  leader 
was  named  Sunnifa,  and  her  brother  Alban,  we  are  not  informed.  Two 
churches  were  then  erected  in  Selja ;  one  of  these  was  dedicated  to  St.  Sun- 
nifa, and  the  other  to  St.  Alban.  Various  miracles  afterwards  confirmed  the 
popular  belief,  that  they  were  glorious  saints.  Their  death  occurred  in  Norway, 
where  it  is  said  they  suffered  martyrdom,  but  under  what  circumstances  seems 
not  to  be  known.  However,  St.  Sunnifa  and  Alban  are  regarded  as  the 
proto-martyrs  of  Norway.      In  the  first  edition  of  Father  Henry  Fitzsimon's 


the  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  8,  pp.  195,  196.  number  of  companions. 

11  Such  was  a  statement  conveyed  to  the  I4  A  curious  Legend  was  current,  that  in 
Bollandists  through  Father  Stephen  White,  the  extreme  parts  of  the  north  of  Europe,  and 
as  found  among  the  Manuscript  collections  among  the  Scritefings,  seven  men  lay  sleeping 
of  the  Irish  Franciscans  at  Louvain.  in  a  certain  cave  beside  the  ocean.  Opinions 

12  The  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould  remarks  :  differed  regarding  them,  some  holding,  these 
"  The  bones  discovered  were  probably  those  sleepers  should  awake  and  preach  to  that 
of  some  shipwrecked  foreign  rovers,  massa-  people  before  the  end  of  the  world.  But, 
cred  in  Earl  Hako's  reign.  And  the  legend  others  said  they  were  some  of  the  eleven 
that  grew  up  around  them  is  a  distant  echo  thousand  virgins  whose  company  separated, 
of  the  legend  of  St.  Ursula." — "  Lives  of  the  and  some  of  these  had  been  wrecked  on  that 
Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  8,  p.  197.  rock.     There,  too,  miracles  were  wrought. 

13  He  cites  Canisius  as  an  authority,  but  See  Pertz's  "  Monumenta  Germanise  Histo- 
neither   he  nor  Greven  specifies  the  exact  rica,"  tomusix.,  p.  302. 


1 68  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


11  Catalogus  aliquorum  Sanctorum  Hiberniae,"  there  is  no  mention  of  these 
holy  virgins  and  martyrs ;  but,  in  the  second  edition  enlarged,  he  notes  at 
the  8th  of  July  St.  Summiva  with  seven  companions  in  Norway. *3  We  are 
told,  that  in  1170,  the  relics  of  St.  Sunnifa  were  brought  from  Selja  to  Ber- 
gen, by  the  Bishop  Paul,  chaplain  to  King  Eysteinn.1*  Dempster  falsely 
cites  Canisius,  for  the  seven  female  companions  of  St.  Summiva,  virgin. 
The  body  of  St.  Sunnifa  is  alleged  to  have  been  deposited  in  a  large  and  hand- 
some shrine,  over  the  high  altar  of  Christ  Church,  in  Bergen.  On  the  8th 
of  July — probably  the  day  of  St.  Summiva's  demise — the  Norwegians 
annually  celebrated  Mass  in  her  honour.1' 


Article  V.^-St.  Trega,  Virgin  and  Patroness  or  Ardtrea  Parish, 
County  of  Londonderry.  {Fifth  Century '.]  St.  Tiega  had  a  feast  on  this 
day,  in  the  place  and  parish  called  after  her  Ardtrea,  partly  in  the  barony  of 
Dungannon,  County  Tyrone,  but  chiefly  in  the  barony  of  Loughinsholin,  and 
county  of  Londonderry.1  The  parish  of  which  she  was  patroness  lies  on  the 
north-west  border  of  Lough  Neagh,2  the  largest  inland  lake  of  Ireland.  It 
seems  to  have  been  Colgan's  intention  to  treat  about  her,3  on  two  different 
days  consecrated  to  her  memory,  viz. :  on  the  8th  of  July,  and  on  the  3rd  of 
August.  The  Bollandists  have  a  notice,  at  the  present  date,  regarding  St. 
Trea  of  Ard-Trea.4  St.  Trega,  Treha  or  Trecha  was  daughter  to  Carthennus, 
the  minor  dynast  of  that  country,  called  Hy-Tuirtre,5  near  Slieve  Gallion, 
and  on  the  borders  of  Lough  Neagh.  This  prince  was  son  to  Ere,  son  to 
Eochad,  son  to  Colla  Huaish,6  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  in  the  year  of  Christ 
326.7  The  mother  of  this  saint  was  named  Mugania,  descended  from  Fear- 
gus  the  Great,  prince  of  Dalaradia.  Her  father  and  mother,  with  their  house- 
hold, embraced  the  faith  of  Christ.  They  were  baptized  by  St.  Patrick,8 
when  he  passed  Toome  ford,  and  entered  the  country  of  Hy-Tuirtre.  Car- 
thennus was  named  the  Minor,  to  distinguish  him  from  an  elder  brother, 
bearing  a  similar  name,  called  Carthennus  Major.  This  latter  would  not  em- 
's See  J.  J.  A.  Worsaae's  "Account  of  the  122  to  125. 
Danes  and  Norwegians,  in  England,  Scot-  7  Duald  Mac  Firbis  thus  traces  the  origin 

land  and  Ireland,"  sect,  v.,  p.  333.  of  this  family  : — "  CoUIa  UAip  cjva  t>a  iiiac 

Article  v. —  *  A  description  of  it  may  be  rhAice.  bAif  .1.  eAj\c  y  jma  SLiad  a  cuai-6  o 
found  in  the  "Parliamentary  Gazetteer  of  ccAi-umec  CappcAinn  locA|:eAbuilpAcr\A 
Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  66,  67.  Cope    fro    SbiAb    a  n-'oeAf  o   ccait>   in 

a  A  curious  legend  of  its  origin  is  to  be  Cuir\c  r\e  Acup  pp.  ti,  acur-  pn  Luij\c,  Acur* 
found,  in  Caxton's  "History  of  England,  U1  tTlAC  Uai|\  Ay  Ler-itie  ceAtmA  t>eA|MiAt> 
Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,"  printed  cor\c§AbAil  ConAille  mui|\ceinne  (cope 
a.d.  1497.  'ono  Ainm  no  gAbAil)  &c."    The  following 

3  See  "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Sexta  Vita  is  a  translation  of  the  Irish:  "  Colla  Uaishad 
S.  Patricii,  n.  97,  p.  113.  two  goodly  sons,  viz.,  Earc  on  the  North  of 

4  They  add  :  "de  qua  ait  Sirinus,  viden-  the  Mountain,  from  whom  descend  the  Mac 
dum  diem  in.  Augusti  :  sed  et  hrec  aliis  Ka-  Cartains  of  Loch  Feabhail  [Foyle],  and 
lendariis  prsetcrita  est." — "  Acta  Sancto-  Fiachra  Tort  on  the  South  of  the  Mountain, 
rum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.  Among  the  pre-  from  whom  descend  the  Hy-Tuirtre,  and  the 
termitted  saints,  p.  533.  Fir-Li,  and  the  Fir-Luirc,  and  Hy-Mac  Uais. 

5  The  descendants  of  Fiachra  Tort,  son  to  It  was  by  him  [Fiachra]  that  Conaille 
Colla  Huaish,  were  called  U1  Cuir\Cj\e.  Muirthemne  [Louth]  was  first  appropriated — 
From  him  the  territory  which  they  occupied  Tort  being  a  name  for  seizure,"  &c.  See 
received  its  name.  Rev.  Dr.   Reeves'  "Ecclesiastical  Antiqui- 

6  This  monarch  with  his  two  brothers  de-  ties  of  Down,  Connor  and  Dromore,"  Ap- 
feated  the  Ultonians  at  the  battle  of  Cain-  pendix  BB,  pp.  292,  293. 
Eacha-lethderg,  A.D.  331.  He  assumed  the  8  See  an  account  of  this  incident,  in  the 
sovereignty  of  Ireland  in  the  year  323,  and  Third  Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  17th  of 
he  held  it  until  326.  See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  March,  Art.  i.  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  chap. 
"Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,  pp.       xv. 


July  8.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  169 


brace  the  Gospel,  but  rather  he  treated  St.  Patrick  with  insult  and  reproach, 
driving  him  forth  from  the  country  in  which  he  ruled.  This  joined  the  terri- 
tory of  his  younger  brother.  Hereupon,  St.  Patrick  predicted,  that  the 
younger  Carthennus  should  one  day  enjoy  the  tyrant's  inheritance.  He  had 
unjustly  expelled  the  prince  from  his  dominions,  lest  this  junior  might  succeed 
to  any  portion  of  his  paternal  possessions.  The  journey  of  our  Irish  Apostle  to 
this  part  of  the  country  is  thus  minutely  described  in  theTripartiteLife;  from  the 
territory  of  Dalaradia  his  travels  lay  through  Fersait-Tuama,*  in  the  district  of 
Hi-Tuirtre,  and  for  forty  days  he  remained  in  a  place  called  Finnabhuir,10 
wishing  at  that  beautiful  site  "  to  establish  his  cathedral  See."  It  is  described 
as  having  been  near  the  mountain  Callann  towards  the  east  and  Lough 
Neagh  towards  the  west.  This  seems,  however,  to  have  been  an  accidental 
reversal  of  the  proper  order.  St.  Trega  was  born  at  the  time  when  St.  Patrick 
baptized  her  father's  household.1*  She  received  her  name  and  the  sacrament 
of  regeneration,  likewise,  through  the  instrumentality  of  that  great  Apostle. 
He  predicted,  at  the  same  time,  the  future  sanctity  of  the  child,  and  the  con- 
secration of  her  virginity  to  God,  at  a  subsequent  period.  The  people  of  Hy- 
Tuirtre  region,  moved  by  the  example  of  their  dynast,  and  enlightened  by 
Divine  grace,  received  the  faith  of  Christ  at  the  same  time,  from  our  Irish 
Apostle.  By  pious  exhortations  and  labours,  he  endeavoured  to  strengthen 
the  foundations  thus  laid,  and  to  nurture  germs  of  salvation,  already  planted 
in  the  minds  of  his  neophytes.  The  father  of  St.  Trega  was  distinguished  for 
piety  and  devotedness  to  all  his  Christian  engagements,  and  for  the  munifi- 
cence with  which  he  built  and  endowed  churches.  Seven  m  of  these  are  parti- 
cularly noted,  as  having  been  commenced  by  St.  Patrick. ■•  Some  of  these 
churches  have  been  identified.16  Thus,  the  Domnach-Fainre  is  known  to  be  the 
present  Donaghenry,1?  a  parish  in  the  county  of  Tyrone,  near  Lough  Neagh. 
Domnach-Riascaigh  is  the  present  Donaghrisk,18  a  townland  in  the  parish  of 


9  This  denomination  signifies  "the  cross-  have  existed  besides  those  of  Clonmacnoise, 
ing  of  Tuaim."  It  is  identical  with  Toome  Glendalough,  Clonenagh,  &c,  There  were 
Bridge  over  the  River  Bann,  in  the  parish  seven  churches  founded  by  St.  Patrick  in 
of  Duneane.  By  the  Irish  Annalists,  it  is  Keenaght,  of  which  Boith-  Domnach,  now 
called  Uuaim,  and  it  gives  name  to  a  barony.  Bandony,  was  one.  See  Colgan's  "Trias 
This  passage  of  the  Bann  is  at  the  issue  of  Thaumaturga,"  Vita  Tripartita  S.  Patricii, 
the  river,  where  it  leaves  Lough  Neagh.  pars,  ii.,  cap.  cxix.,  p.  145. 

10  It  is  rendered  "  albus  compus,"  in  **  "  Unde  in  regione  ilia  septem  basilica- 
Latin.  See  Colgan's  "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  rum  jecit  fundamenta  :  quarum  prisca  voca- 
Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  xciv.,  p.  87.  bula   erant    Domnach    Fainre,    Domnach - 

11  There  were  several  places  bearing  this  Riascaigh,  Domnach-Fothairbe,  Domnach- 
name  of  Fionnabhair  in  Ireland.  One  of  Righdhuinn,  Domnach-Brain,  Domnach- 
these  was  near  the  Abbey  of  Mellifont.  See  moelain,  et  Domnach-libeir."  See  ibid., 
O'Donovan's  "  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,"  cap.  cxxxviii.  to  cxl.,  p.  148. 

vol.  ii.,  p.  1043,  and  n-  (e)  5  also  PP-    II24»  l6  By  Rev.    Dr.   Reeves  in  his  invaluable 

1 125,  n.  (m).  There  is  also  one  near  Clogher,  historical  and  topographical  work,    intituled 

which  is  thus  described  by  Colgan  :  "Collis  "  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Down,  Connor 

Finn-abhuir  in  Lemania,  quae  est  regio  cam-  and  Dromore,"  Appendix  BB,  p.  294,  n.  (b). 

pestris  Tironiae,  dicecesis  Clocharensis,  vulgo  Ijr  It  was  formerly  within  Domnaghfenre 

Maglemna    aliis  clossach,    dicta." — "Trias  and  Dompnachfionnray,  in  the  ancient regis- 

Thaumaturga,"  Septima  Vita    S.  Patricii,  ters  of  Armagh. 

cap.  iv.,  p.  149  and  184,  n.  II.  ,8  In  the  Taxation  of  Armagh  diocese  A.D. 

"  See  Rev.   Dr.    Reeves'  "Ecclesiastical  1291,  Donagheresca  occurs  as  the  name  of 

Antiquities  of  Down,  Connor  and  Dromore,"  an    independent    church.      In   the  ancient 

Appendix  BB,  p.  293,  n.  (x).  Registra  of  the  diocese,  it  is  called  the  rec- 

13  See  Colgan's  "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  tory  of  Domnaghreasca  and  Downaghryeske. 
Vita  Tripartita  S.  Patricii,  pars,  ii.,  cap.  cxl.,  The  Dungannon  Inquisition  of  1609  repre- 
p.  148.  sents  Donaghreiske  as  a  chapel,  with  two 

14  There  are  other  instances  in  Ireland,  balliboes  of  Erenagh  land  thereto  belonging, 
where  we  hnd  groups  of  seven   churches  to  Its  ancient  cemetery  was  the  burying-place 


iyo  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


Desertcreat,  which  joins  the  former  parish  on  the  west.  Donnabaran,  in  the 
deanery  of  Tullaghoge,  washerenach  land,  and  it  resembles  the  name  Dom- 
nach-Brain.T9  The  Rev.  Dr.  Reeves  was  unable  to  identify  the  modern  names 
of  the  remaining  churches.20  Callann  is  the  same  as  Slieve  Gallion,  a  high 
ridge  of  mountain  at  the  south-west  of  Loughinsholin  barony,  in  the  county 
of  Derry;  whilst  Ethach  is  identical  with  the  present  Lough  Neagh.  When 
her  father  had  been  restored  to  his  territory,  St.  Trega  received  the  veil  from 
St.  Patrick  f1  and,  afterwards,  she  became  greatly  distinguished  for  fervour 
and  fidelity  to  engagements  with  her  Divine  spouse.  In  all  probability,  she 
founded  a  religious  establishment,  in  the  present  parish  of  Ardtrea,  on  the 
north-west  border  of  Lough  Neagh.  This  parish  reaches  to  Toome,  and  it 
was  situated  within  the  ancient  territory  of  Hy-Tuirtre.22  The  festival  of  our 
saint  was  celebrated,  likewise,  in  Ardtrea  parish,  on  the  3rd  of  August.^ 
Whether  this  had  been  the  date  for  her  death,  or  the  8th  of  July,  has  not 
been  determined. 


Article  VI. — St.  Brogan,  of  Maethail-Bhrogain,  now  Mothil, 
County  of  Waterford,  or  Secretary  to  St.  Patrick.  The  identity 
of  St.  Brocanus  has  been  questioned.  While  some  writers  deem  him  to  have 
been  the  nephew  of  St.  Patrick,  and  also  his  scribe ;  others  hold  a 
different  opinion.  In  the  Feilire  of  St.  ^Engus,1  at  the  8th  of  July,  Brocan 
the  Scribe  is  invoked,  and  with  a  special  panegyric.  The  commentator 
states,  that  he  was  of  Moethail  Broccain,  in  Desi,  of  Munster;  but,  he  has 
an  alternative  supposition,  that  Broccan,  Patrick's  scribe  is  meant  here ;  and, 
if  such  be  the  case,  Brechmag  in  Ui-Forta  was  his  church.2  In  the  Martyr- 
ology  of  Tallagh,3  at  the  8th  of  July,  the  name  of  Broccan,  Scribuid,  is 
inserted.  According  to  the  Kalendars  of  Cashel  and  of  Marianus  O'Gorman, 
he  was  the  nephew  of  St.  Patrick,  the  constant  companion  in  his  missions, 
and  travels,  as  also  his  secretary.  If  we  consider  him  to  be  St.  Patrick's 
nephew,  he  is  alluded  to  by  Jocelyn,  where  he  introduces  the  Bishops  Bro- 
chadius,  Brochanus,  Mogenocus  and  Loman,  as  having  come  from  Britain,  to 
labour  with  their  uncle,  the  Apostle  of  Ireland,  in  the  missionary  field,  where 
he  sowed  the  seeds  of  the  Gospel.4  The  feast  of  that  St.  Brochan  is  referred 
by  Colgan,  to  the  8th  of  July .5     According  to  Cathal  Maguire,  he  was  either 

of  the  O'Hagan  sept.  county  of  Tyrone,  and  Loughinsholin  in  the 

x«  According  to  the  Armagh  Register  of  county  of  Derry.     See  Rev.  Wm.  Reeves' 

Swayne,  fol.  60.  "Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Down,  Connor 

20  He  says,  there  is  not  any  approach  to  and  Dromore,"  Appendix  BB,  p.  293. 
them  in  the  lists  of  parishes,   contained  in  33  "  Trecha  sive   Trega,   filia  Carthennii, 
the  Armagh  Registra.  filii  Erci,  filii  Eochadii,  filii  Collae  Huassii 

21  According  to  the  Irish  Tripartite  Life,  colitur  in  Ardtrea,  3.  Augusti." — Colgan 's 
as  translated  by  William  M.  Hennessy  for  "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Septima  Vita  S. 
Miss  M.  F.  Cusack's  "Life  of  St.  Patrick,"  Patricii,  n.  232,  p.  183. 

angels  brought  this  veil  from  Heaven,  and  Article  vi. —  x  See   "Transactions   of 

placed  it  on  her  head  down  over  her  eyes,  the  Royal   Irish    Academy,"   Irish   Manu- 

when  Patrick  began  to  raise  it  up.     "Why  script  Series,  vol.  i.,  part  i.     On  the  Calen- 

is  it  not  good  to  bear  it  as  it  was  placed  ?"  dar  of  Oengus,  by  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D., 

asked  Trea.  "  It  is  good,  indeed,"  answered  pp.  cix.,  ex. 

Patrick.   She  never  saw  anything  during  her  2  See  ibid.,  p.  cxvii. 

life  except  what  she  saw  through  that  veil.  3  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

Part  ii.,  p.  446.  *  See    Colgan's     "Trias    Thaumaturga," 

22  Not  being  of   the  Ruderician  or  old  Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  1.,  p.  76. 
Ultonian  stock,  the  Hy  Tuirtre  territory  ori-  5  See  ibid.,  n.  51,  p.    no. 

ginally  lay  on  the  west  side  of  Lough  Neagh,  6   See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

and  comprehended  a  considerable  portion  of      Julii  viii.     Among  the  pretermitted    saints, 
the  modern  baronies  of  Dungannon,  in  the      p.  533. 


July  8j  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  i7i 


Brocan  of  Maothal-Brogain,  in  the  Decies  of  Munster,  or  Brogan,  scribe  of 
St.  Patrick.  The  Bollandists 6  have  some  notices  of  St.  Brocan,  the  scribe, 
at  the  8th  of  July.  We  are  told,  that  an  abbey  for  Canons  Regular  of  St. 
Augustine  had  been  founded  in  the  sixth  century  by  a  St.  Brogan.7  It  stood 
in  Mothill  parish,  county  of  Waterford ;  and,  at  the  dissolution  of  monasteries, 
it  was  granted  to  the  celebrated  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in  fee-farm.8  Some  few 
remains  of  this  foundation  were  traced  near  the  parish  church,  in  the  last 
century.9  Others  deem  the  foundation  to  have  been  for  Cistercian  monks. 
A  St.  Brochanus,  bishop,  is  mentioned  in  St.  Patrick's  Acts  ;10  but,  he  appears 
to  be  a  different  individual  from  the  present  saint,  in  the  estimation  of  some 
persons.  At  the  same  date,  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal  "  records  Brogan, 
scribe,  of  Maethail-Bhrogain,  in  Deisi  Mumham.  This  holy  bishop  is  entered 
in  Henry  Fitzsimon's  Calendar."  He  was  venerated  in  Scotland,  as  we  learn 
from  the  Calendar  of  Drummond,1*  at  the  8th  of  July.1* 


Article  VII.— St.  Condmac  or  Connmach,  of  Ath-Blair,  or  Atha 
Stlain.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagly  at  the  9th  of  July,  a  festival  is  re- 
corded in  honour  of  Condmac,  of  Atha  Silain.  The  place  of  this  saint  is 
differently  denominated,  in  a  later  Calendar.  The  Martyrology  of  Donegal,2 
at  the  same  date,  enters  the  name  as  Connmach,  of  Ath  Blair.  Under  either 
name,  the  place  of  this  holy  man  has  not  been  identified. 


Article  VIII. — Festival  of  Saints  Totnanus  and  Colmanus, 
Martyrs.  The  various  Usuard  Codices,  according  to  the  Bollandists,1  have 
their  Festival  entered,  apart  from  that  of  St.  Kilian,  Martyr,  at  Wurtzburg; 
however,  as  they  were  his  companions  in  suffering,  all  that  can  be  known 
regarding  them  has  been  already  given  in  his  Life — the  first  at  this  day. 


Article  IX. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Adelinus,  Martyr.  In  the 
Scottish  Menology  of  Dempster,  the  name  of  Adelinus,  Martyr,  and  com- 
panion of  St.  Kilian,  has  been  introduced,  at  this  date.  The  Bollandists  " 
merely  notice  this  entry,  and  refer  to  their  previous  commentary  on  the  Acts 
of  St.  Kilian  for  their  opinion  regarding  this  statement  of  Dempster. 


Article  X. — Reputed   Festival   of  St.   Erwaldus,   Arnwal,   or 
Arnualis,  Disciple  of  St.  Kilian.     Owing  to  the  confusion  of  name, 


7  See  Archdall's    "  Monasticon  Hiberni-  Catholicse  Ibernise  Compendium,"  tomus  i., 
cum,"  for  an  interesting  record  of  this  Abbey,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  xii.,  p.  53. 

its  rulers,  and  its  possessions,  pp.  696,  697.  I3  Thus  entered  :  "  viii.  Idus  Apud  Hiber- 

8  See  Harris' Ware,  vol.  ii.,  "Antiquities  niam   Natale  Sanctorum  Confessorum  Bro- 
of  Ireland,"  chap,  xxxviii.,  p.  226.  Theassig-  cain  et  Diarmata." 

nee  was  the  Earl  of  Cork.  I4   See   Bishop    Forbes'    "  Kalendars   of 

9  See  Smith's  "Ancient  and  Present  State  Scottish  Saints,"  p.  17. 

of  the  County  and  City  of  Waterford,"  chap.  Article   vii.—  x  Edited  by    Rev.    Dr. 

iii.,  p.  91.  Kelly,  p.  xxix. 

10  See  Colgan's    "Trias  Thaumaturga,"  2  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 
Vita  Sexta  S.  Patricii,  cap.  ii.,  and  n.  51,  190,  191. 

p.  100.  Article  viii.— T   See    "Acta    Sancto- 

11  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  rum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.     Among  the  pre- 
190,  191.  termitted  feasts,  p.  531. 

12  See  "  Catalogus  aliquorum  Sanctorum  Article  ix. — »  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum," 
Ibernise,"  in  O'Sullevan  Beare's  "  Historice  tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.  Among  the  pretermitted 


1 72  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


different  Martyrologists  assign  the  feast  of  this  reputed  disciple  of  St.  Kilian 
to  various  days.  Thus,  it  is  at  the  19th  of  January,  at  the  15th  of  February,1 
at  the  8th  of  July,  and  at  the  2nd  of  October.  Whatever  may  be  the  truth  of 
that  statement  regarding  his  having  been  the  companion  of  St.  Kilian — whose 
Life  is  already  given  on  this  day — such  companionship  is  not  noticed  in  his 
Acts,  as  relating  to  Franconia  or  to  his  martyrdom.  The  Bollandists,  who 
notice  him,  at  this  day,  state,  that  he  is  undoubtedly  one  and  the  same,  who 
has  been  referred,  in  the  Irish  and  Scottish  Calendars,  to  the  2nd  of 
October." 


Article  XI. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Giswald.  The  Bollandists,1  at 
the  8th  of  July,  have  a  notice  of  Giswald — said  to  have  been  a  companion  of 
St.  Disibod — by  Camerarius.3  About  him  or  his  cultus  nothing  more  is 
known,  than  what  has  been  already"  recorded,  in  the  Life  of  St.  Disibod, 
already  given  on  this  day. 


Article  XII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Alganus,  Archbishop  and 
Martyr.  In  the  Carthusian  Manuscript  Martyrology  at  Bruxelles,  and  at 
the  8th  of  July,  is  entered  an  account  of  St.  Alganus,  Archbishop,  of  the 
Island  Hibernia,  who  was  martyred  among  the  Umbrani.  Nothing  more 
seems  to  be  known  regarding  him,  and  the  Bollandists,  who  have  inserted 
the  foregoing  account  for  this  day,1  are  at  a  loss  to  know  whence  it  had  been 
derived,  as  Fitzsimon  has  it  not  in  his  catalogue  of  Irish  Saints,  nor  has 
Dempster  or  Camerarius  any  similar  entry  in  their  Scottish  Kalendars. 


Article  XIII. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Kilian,  Dux,  and  Uncle  to 
St.  Ursula.  This  feast  of  St.  Kiliamis,  Dux,  uncle  to  St.  Ursula  and  father 
to  the  holy  Brigid,  Helena  and  Sapientia,  is  entered  by  Gelenius,  as  having 
been  celebrated  at  Cologne,  on  the  8th  day  of  July.  The  Bollandists  insert 
this  notice,  at  the  same  date,  and  distinguish  this  St.  Kilian  from  the  Martyr 
so  called  at  Wurtzburg.1  However,  finding  nothing  more  definite  regarding 
him,  and  desiring  further  information,  they  defer  to  the  21st  of  October  any 
subsequent  notice,  when  they  should  have  an  opportunity  of  treating  about 
St.  Ursula  and  her  companions. 


Article  XIV. — St.  Ribianus,  Bishop.  Floratius  and  Henry  Fitzsimon, 
at  the  8th  of  July,  enter  a  festival  for  St.  Ribianus,  a  Bishop.1  This  is  to  be 
found,  likewise,  in  the  "  Menologium  Scoticum  "  of  Thomas  Dempster.2    In 


saints,  p.  531.  'In  his  Scottish  Kalendar,  Giswaldus  is 

Article  x. — '  See  an  account  of  him,  placed  at  the  26th  of  June. 

under  the  various  titles  of  Eruald,  Erwald,  Article  XII. —  '  See"  Acta  Sanctorum," 

Arnwal  and    Arnual  in  Franconia,    at  the  tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.   Among  the  pretermitted 

date  given,  and  in  the  Second  Volume  of  .saints,  p.  531. 

this  work,  Art.  v.  Article  xiii.—  l   See    ''Acta    Sancto- 

a    See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus     ii.,  rum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.    Among  the  pre- 

Julii  viii.     Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  termitted  saints,  p.  534. 

p.  1534.  Article  xiv. —  ■  See  O'Sullevan  Beare's 

Article  XL — x  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum,"  "  Historic    Catholicse     Iberniae    Compen- 

tomus  ii.,  Julii  viii.  Among  the  pretermitted  dium,"  tomus  i.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  xii.,  p.  56. 

saints,  p.  531.  a    See    Bishop    Forbes'    "  Kalendars  of 


July  8.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


73 


his  larger  work  on  Scottish  Ecclesiastical  History,  there  is  nothing  referring 
to  him. 


Article  XV. — St.  Burchardus,  First  Bishop  of  Wurtzburg. 
Floratius,  the  Chronica  Mundi,  and  Henry  Fitzsimon,  insert,  at  the  8th  of 
July,  the  feast  of  St.  Burchardus,  Bishop.1  The  Bollandists 2  notice  this  entry, 
at  the  same  date,  but  they  refer  to  his  principal  feast  at  the  14th  of  October. 


Article  XVI. — Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Aidus,  Abbot  and  Martyr. 
[Ninth  Century'].  Our  Irish  Annals  relate,  that  Aidus  was  Abbot  of  Tir-da- 
Ghlas x  and  of  Cluain-Eidhneach,2  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  ninth  century. 


Ruined  Fortress  of  Dunamase,  Queen's   County. 

He  is  called  the  son  of  Dubhdachrich.3  It  would  seem,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  fly  from  the  Northman  devastations  to  Dun-Masg,*  which  was  a  strong 
fortress  at  the  time.  A  fine  castle,  with  a  circumvallation  on  the  upper  sum- 
mit, and  strong  outworks  around  the  lower  level — accessible  only  on  the 


Scottish  Saints,"  p.  205. 

Article  xv.—  l  See  O'Sullevan  Beare's 
"Historian  Catholicae  Iberniae  Compen- 
dium," tomus  i.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  xii.,  p.  53. 

2  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Julii 
viii.    Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  p.  534. 

Article  xvi. — *  Now  Terryglass,  in 
the  county  of  Tipperary. 

2  Now  Clonenagh,  in  the  Queen's  County. 

3  The  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,  as  trans- 
lated into  English,  render  his  name  Hugh 
mac  Duffedachrich,  and  they  place  his  death 
atA.D.  842. 

4  Now    Dunamase,    near   Maryborough, 


Queen's  County.  On  this  isolated  rock  for- 
merly stood  a  cashel  or  strongly  fortified 
stone  enclosure. 

s  For  an  excellent  and  accurate  illustration 
of  the  Barbican  of  Dunamase  we  are  indebted 
to  the  pencil  of  Samuel  Lover,  R.H.A.,  the 
well-known  Irish  poet,  novelist  and  painter, 
in  the  "Irish  Penny  Magazine,"  vol.  i.,  No. 
3,  p.  17.  The  historical  article  accompany- 
ing it  is  from  the  pen  of  John  D'Alton,  also 
celebrated  for  his  valuable  local  histories  of 
various  parts  of  Ireland. 

6  These  have  been  very  inaccurately 
sketched  and  engraved  in  the  works  of  Grose 


i74  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  8. 


eastern  side — had  been  erected  on  the  site  of  the  older  Irish  fortress,  by 
William  de  Braosa,  Lord  of  Brecknock,  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  The  following  age,  in  1325,  it  was  seized  by  Lysach  O'More,  and 
afterwards  it  had  a  varied  history.s  The  extensive  and  romantic  ruins  of  that 
old  castle6  are  to  be  seen  there  at  present. 7  The  old  fortress  of  Dunamase 
was  plundered  by  the  foreigners,  a.d.  843,  and  Aedh  was  there  taken 
prisoner.  He  was  thence  carried  into  Munster,  where  he  suffered  martyrdom, 
for  the  sake  of  God.8  It  is  added,  in  the  Bollandists'  work,'  that  this  hap- 
pened on  the  8th  of  July,10  when  they  note  this  commemoration,  although  it 
appears  to  have  been  omitted,  by  the  Irish  Calendarists. 


Article  XVII. — St.  Colman  Imramha  or  Iomhramha,  of  Fahan 
Beg,  County  of  Donegal.  A  festival  to  honour  Colman  Imramha  was 
celebrated  at  the  8th  of  July,  as  we  find  it  entered  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Tallagh.1  He  is  called  Colman  Eirmer,  by  Marianus  O'Gorman.  The  Bol- 
landists 2  have  notices  of  St.  Colmanus  Iomramha — interpreted  Remex  seu 
de  remigio — at  the  8th  of  July ;  but,  they  pretend  not  to  distinguish  him 
further,  among  the  many  saints,  called  Colman,  and  entered  in  the  Irish 
Calendars.  He  belonged  to  the  race  of  Cairpre  Riada,  son  to  Conaire,  who 
sprung  from  the  race  of  Heremon.  Fahan  Beg,  of  Inis  Eoghain,  was  his  place. 
It  lies  on  the  eastern  shores  of  that  fine  expanse  of  water  Lough  Swilly,  in  the 
barony  of  Inishowen,  and  county  of  Donegal.  His  name  appears, 
likewise,  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,3  at  the  same  date,  as  Colman 
Iomhramha.* 


Article  XVIII. — Reputed  Festival  of  St.  Boisil,  Prior  of  Mel- 
rose, Scotland.  In  the  Kalendar  of  Herdmanston,1  a  later  hand  has  in- 
serted a  festival  for  St.  Boisil,  Prior  of  Melrose,  at  the  8th  of  July.2  His  Acts 
have  been  already  epitomized,  at  the  23rd  of  February.3 


and  Ledwich.  2    See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus    ii., 

7  The  accompanying  illustration  is  from  a  Julii  viii.     Among  the  pretermitted    saints, 

drawing  taken  on  the  spot,  by  William  F.  p.  533. 

Wakeman,  and  by  him  drawn  on  the  wood,  3  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,   pp. 

engraved  by  Mrs.  Millard.  190,191. 

"See   Dr.  O'Donovan's    "Annals  of  the  *  "The  more  recent  hand  adds  in  Irish 

Four  Masters,"  vol.  i.,   pp.  464  to  467,  and  characters  :"  Colman   Eirmer   Mor."     But 

n.  (a),  ibid.  M'Curry's  copy  of  the  Brussels  MS.  reads, 

9  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  ii.,  Colman  crniep  tmpairiA  no  tiALeb("Col- 
Julii  viii.  Among  the  pretermitted  feasts,  man,  the  Cimmerian  wanderer,  I  invoke.") 
p.  533-  A  note  by  Dr.  Todd. 

10  According  to  their  version  of  the  Annales  Article  xviii.—  x  Thus:  "viii.  Idus. 
Dungallenses.  This  date  is  omitted,  however,  Sancti  Bosilii." 

in  that  work,  as  edited  by  Dr.  John  O'Dono-  2  See  Bishop  Forbes'  "  Kalendars  of  Scot- 
van,  tish  Saints,"  pp.  42,  281. 

Article  xvil— «  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  *  See  the  Second  Volume  of  this  work 

Kelly,  p.  xxviii.  Art.  x 


July  9. J  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  17 


#fttt&  IBap  of  3ulj?* 


ARTICLE     I.— ST.    BR0CCAID1I,     OK     IULEACH-BROCCADIIA,    NOW 
EMLAGH,  COUNTY  OF  ROSCOMMON. 

[FIFTH     CENTURY.] 

THE  present  holy  man  lived  contemporaneously  with  St.  Patrick.1  At 
the  9th  of  July,  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh  a  mentions,  that  venera- 
tion was  given  to  Broccaid.  The  name  of  his  father  was  Gollit,  according  to 
received  accounts. 3  It  has  been  stated,  that  Broccaidh,  of  Imleach-Broc- 
cadha,  in  Maigheo,  had  Darerca,  sister  of  St.  Patrick,  for  his  mother.  Jocelyn, 
however,  makes  Tygridia  his  mother.*  It  is  said,  by  O'Clery,  that  Gallit, 
sister  s  of  Patrick,  was  the  mother  of  Loman.  But,  this  writer  here  mistakes, 
regarding  what  is  said  in  the  Tripartite  Life,  Gollit,  being  the  father  of  Saints 
Loman,  Munis,  Broccaidh  and  Brogan  or  Broccan.6  In  another  place,?  a 
similar  mistake  has  been  committed,  by  the  O'Clerys,  in  their  Calendar.  The 
Latin  Tripartite  Life  of  Patrick  states,8  that  Broccaidh  of  Imlach  Each,  in 
Ciarriaghe,  of  Connaught,  was  a  brother  to  Loman,  of  Ath-Truim.  He  was 
a  bishop,  according  to  received  accounts.  The  Tripartite  Life  states,  at 
another  place,?  that  Broccaidh,  of  Imleach  Each,  brother  to  Loman,  of  Ath 
Truim,  was  along  with  Patrick  at  Magh-Sealga,  in  Connacht.  The  only 
place  in  Mayo  known  as  Emlagh,  at  present,  was  formerly  called  Imleach- 
each,  i.e.,  "  Strath  "  or  "  Marsh  of  the  Horses."  It  is  situated,  in  the  barony 
of  Costello,  and  County  of  Mayo.10  This  place  is  described  as  being  in 
Kierragia,  a  region  of  Connaught,"  and  where  a  church  had  been  erected  by 
St.  Brocadius.  He  was  identical  with  the  present  saint,  and  his  memory  in 
connexion  with  it  appears  to  have  given  a  name  to  that  place  subsequent  to 
his  departure  from  this  world.  Archdall  has  erred  in  placing  it  within  the 
county  of  Roscommon.12  ,  There  were  no  less  than  three  different  places, 
called  Ciarraighe  or  Kierraga,^  in  Connaught.  St.  Brochad I4  accompanied 
St.  Patrick  on  his  mission  to  Magh-Selga  in  Connaught.  The  Imleach  to 
which  this  saint  belonged,  was  a  church  in  the  deanery  of  Siol-Muiredhuigh, 
Elphin  diocese,  according  to  a  Catalogue  of  Churches  belonging  to  this  dio- 


Article  1. — *  See  his  Life,  in  the  Third  and  nn.  8,  106,  pp.  173,  177. 

Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  17th  of  March,  9  Chapter  Twenty-two  is  quoted. 

Art.  i.  I0  See  Dr.   O'Donovan's  "  Annals  of  the 

2  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxix.  Four   Masters,"   vol.  i.,   n.    (d),    pp.   359, 

3  See  Rev.   Dr.  Todd's    "St.    Patrick,  360. 

Apostle  of  Ireland,"  Introduction,  Appendix  "  See  Colgan's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber- 

B,  p.  260.  niae,"  xvii.  Februarii,  Vita  S.  Lomani,  cap. 

*  See   Colgan's    "Trias    Thaumaturga,"  iii.,  p.  362. 

Sexta  Vita  S.  Patricii,  cap.  1.,  p.  76,  and  n.  "   See    "  Monasticon    Hibernicum,"    p. 

51,  p.  100.  610. 

s  See     Rev.    Drs.    Todd    and    Reeves'  J3  See  Dr.    O'Donovan's    "Leabhar    na 

"  Martyrology  of  Donegal,"  pp.  190,  191.  g-Ceart,  or  the  Book  of  Rights,"  pp.  100  to 

6  See    Colgan's    "  Trias   Thaumaturga,"  103,  n.  (f). 

Quinta  Appendix  ad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  cap.  **  Colgan  mentions  this  saint,  as  one  of 

iv.,  p.  226.  those  venerated  in  the  church  of  Mayo.  "S. 

7  At  the  1 8th  of  December.  Brochadius  de  Imleach  Brochaidh,  in  Mageo, 

8  See    Colgan's    "Trias    Thaumaturga,"  9  Julii." —  "Acta  Sanctorum   Hibernise," 
lib.  ii.,  cap.  ii.,  p.  129  ;  also  cap.  Iii.,  p.  136,  xiii.  Martii,  Appendix,  cap.  iv.,  p.  605. 


176  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  9. 


cese,  which  had  been  sent  to  Colgan,  by  the  Very  Rev.  Boetius  Egan,  brother 
to  the  Bishop  of  Elphin.'s  It  was  situated  in  the  present  parish  of  Kilkeevin,16 
of  Castlereagh  Barony  and  Roscommon  County.  We  are  enabled  to  dis- 
cover the  exact  situation  of  St.  Brocaidh's  place,  from  crown  grants,^  the 
rolls  l8  and  other  documents.  This  parish  of  Kilkeevin  is  bounded  on  the 
north,  by  Tibohine  and  Baslick  parishes-  on  the  east,  by  this  latter  parish 
and  that  of  Ballintober ;  on  the  south,  by  Kiltullagh  parish,  a  part  of  Galway 
County,  and  part  of  Drumatemple  parish  in  Roscommon  County ;  and  on  the 
west,  by  Kiltullagh  parish  and  part  of  Mayo  County.1*  The  Rev.  Dr.  Todd  2° 
has  incorrectly  identified  the  church  of  Broccaide  with  Imliuch  or  Emleach  Each 
or  the  "  Horses'  Marsh,"  in  the  barony  of  Costello  and  county  of  Mayo. 
The  three  Kierragas  of  Connaught  are  thus  more  particularly  denominated  by 
Irish  historical  writers  :  Ciarraighe  Locha  na  n  airneadh,  Ciarraighe  Uachtair, 
and  Ciarraighe  Aoi,  otherwise  called  Ciarraighe  Mhic  Ceithearnaigh.  The  last 
of  these  is  comprised  in  the  present  county  of  Roscommon,  and  the  other 
two  in  that  of  Mayo.31  The  present  barony  of  Costello  comprises  two  terri- 
tories, namely,  Sliabh  Lugha,  the  ancient  patrimony  of  O'Gara,  and  Ciar- 
raighe Locha  na  n  airneadh.  The  boundary  between  them  is  defined  by  that 
of  the  diocese  of  Achonry  with  that  of  Tuam.  The  territory  of  Ciarraighe 
Uachtair  comprises  the  entire  of  the  present  barony  of  Clanmorris,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Termon  of  Balla,  which  comprised  24  ballys  or  ancient  Irish 
townlands,  and  which  belonged  to  the  territory  of  Ceara.  The  parish  of 
Balla  was  added  to  the  territory  of  Ceara,  and  it  made  the  remaining  part 
of  the  barony  of  Clanmorris  the  same  as  the  territory  of  Ciarraighe  Uach- 
tair.22 This  saint's  name  is  found  entered  on  Henry  Fitzsimon's  list.2*-  The 
Martyrology  of  Donegal 2*  records  him,  at  this  same  date.  Under  the  head 
of  Imlech  Brochada  or  Brochaid,25  in  Magh-Eo  Magh  Ai,  Duald  Mac  Firbis 

'S  See  Colgan's    "Trias   Thaumaturga,"  ar  On   the  Map   of  ancient   Mayo,    Mr. 

Septima  Vita  S.  Patricii,  lib.  ii.,   nn.  104,  O'Donovan  has  both  the  districts  of  ce<in- 

106,  107,  p.  177.  f»Aije,  situated  in  this  county  thus  bounded. 

16  "There  is  an  old  church  at  Emlagh  in  On  the  north,  the  ancient  territories  of  541- 

this  parish,  at  which  there  springs  a  very  lean^A  and  Sliab  U15A  ;  on  the  east,  Ros- 

sacred  fountain,   where  patterns  were  held  common  County ;  on  the  south  the  county 

on  the  15th  and  28th  of  August ;  but  strange  of  Roscommon,  and  the  ancient  territory  of 

to  say  it  has  no  name  but  cobap  An  lml/15.  Conmaicne,  in  Mayo  ;  and  on  the  west,  the 

This  is  the  Imlach  Brocadb  (Each)  of  Col-  ancient  territory  of  Ceaj\A  in  Mayo, 

gan." — "  Letters     containing     Information  23  "  The  authorities  for  these  boundaries 

relating  to  the   Antiquities   of  the  County  have  already  been  given  in  the  Mayo  Letters, 

of  Roscommon,  collected  during  the  Pro-  but  I  thought  it  necessary  to  add  the  fore- 

gress  of  the  Irish  Ordnance  Survey  in  the  going  remarks  on  the  manner  in  which  I 

year  1837."  Mr.  O'Donovan's  Letter,  dated  laid  down  the  territories  on  the  ancient  Map, 

Castlereagh,  July  10th,  1837,  vol.  i.,  p.  170.  that  it  may  be  seen  how  far  the  boundaries 

'7  See  one  of  these  to  Richard,  Earl  of  are  proved."  See  "Letters  containing  lnfor- 
Clanrickard,  dated  8th  April,  1662,  grant-  mation  relating  to  the  Antiquities  of  the 
ing  him  several  parcels  of  land  and  tithes,  County  of  Mayo,  collected  during  the  Pro- 
formerly  belonging  to  the  absorbed  parish  of  gress  of  the  Irish  Ordnance  Survey  in  1841." 
Termon  Kelline,  alias  Termonbeg.  One  o(  paper  headed,  "  Of  the  Ancient  Territories 
those  was  Imlaghbrocowa,  now  in  the  pre-  constituting  the  County  of  Mayo,  in  the  pro- 
sent  parish  of  Kilkeevan,  which  contains  vince  of  Connaught,"  signed,  John  O'Dono- 
the  town  of  Castlerea,  County  Roscom-  van,  May  15th,  1 84 1.  See  vol.  ii.,  pp.  503, 
mon.  504. 

18   See  Dr.  O'Donovan's  Supplement  to  *  See   "  Catalogus  aliquorum  Sanctorum 

O'Reilly's  "  Irish  Dictionary,"  voce  Imlach  ;  Ibetniaj."    O'Sullevan  Beare's  "  Historic 

and  Patent  Roll  of  35th  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  Catholicae  Iberniae  Compendium,"  tomus  i., 

part  2.  lib.  iv.,  cap.  xii.,  p.  53. 

*»  See  Ordnance    Survey  Maps  of  the  3*  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

County  of  Roscommon.  190,191. 

30  See  "  St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland,"  a*  Now  Emlech,  barony  of  Costello,  county 

Introduction  Appendix  B,  p.  260.  of  Mayo.     William  M.  Hennessy's  note. 


July  9.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  177 


enters  Bishop  Brochad,  at  July  9th,  and  in  two  distinct  places.26  In  the  Irish 
Calendar,  belonging  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  we  find  this  saint's 
name  referred  to,*?  at  the  vii.  of  the  July  Ides,  corresponding  with  the  9th 
of  July. 


Article  II. — St.  Onchon  or  Onchu,  of  Clonmore,  County  of  Carlow, 
or  of  Rath-Blathmac,  now  Rath,  County  of  Clare.  Earthly  power  and 
decay  have  been  able  to  obliterate  vestiges  of  ourformer  saints  with  the  memory 
of  their  names  and  places,  in  particular  districts  of  our  Island.  But,  although 
ruin  and  loneliness  characterize  the  sites  of  their  ancient  churches;  however, 
some  glimmering  lights  may  help  to  brighten  the  shadows.  A  few  doubtful 
inferences  only  can  be  drawn  in  reference  to  the  present  holy  man.  In  the 
"  Feilire"  of  St.  ^Engus,1  the  Festival  of  St.  Onchon  is  found  at  this  date, 
with  a  panegyric,  and  an  encomium  on  the  efficiency  of  his  intercession.  It  is 
difficult  to  determine,  whether  or  not  this  holy  man  had  been  identical  with 
St.  Onchuo2  of  Clonmore,  in  the  county  of  Carlow;  but,  an  Irish  poem  3 
seems  to  favour  the  affirmative  conclusion.  However,  the  scholiast  offers  an 
opinion,  that  Onchu  was  a  priest,  and  the  son  of  Blathmac  of  Raith  Blath- 
maic,  in  the  upper  part  of  Dal-cais.*  On  this  conjecture  alone  appears  to  rest 
the  conclusion  of  Colgan  and  the  O'Clerys.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Tallaght,5 
we  find  but  the  simple  entry,  Onchon,  at  the  9th  of  July.  He  is  noticed, 
also,  by  Marianus  O'Gorman.6  As  already,  at  the  8th  of  February,  the 
Calendar  of  St.  ^Engus  contains  an  entry  of  Hua  or  Hoa,  without  designating 
his  place,  but  calling  him  a  splendid  descendant  of  the  sage,  and  stating  that 
his  speech  was  of  Christ,  so  the  panegyric  of  Onchon  at  the  present  day  leaves 
it  possible,  either  that  they  may  have  been  distinct  persons,  or  one  and  the 
same  having  two  different  festivals.  If  he  were  identical  with  the  patron  of 
Clonmore,  sufficient  has  been  stated  regarding  him  at  the  8th  of  February; 
if  lie  be  distinct,  we  may  probably  seek  for  a  more  distant  locality.  His 
place  is  now  known,  it  is  said,  as  the  old  church  of  Rath,  in  the  barony  of 
Inchiquin,  and  county  of  Clare.     Dr.  O'Donovan  states,  that  the  festival  of 


26  See  "  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  3  It  is  thus  translated  into  English  : — 
Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i.. 

part  i.,  pp.  112,  113,  and  at  pp.  122, 123.  "  Dear  the  two  who  are  at  rest 

27  Thus:  OnogAio  Irntech  bnocAOA  1  At  the  cross  with  relics  in  the  south 
ITU115  eo,  Common  Place  Book  F,  p.  62.  Onchu  who  loved  not  a  despicable 
Irish  Ordnance  Survey  Copy.  world, 

Article  ii. — '  In  the  "Leabhar  Breac"  .    Finan  the  Leper,  hand  of  the  bene- 

copy  we  have  the  following  rann,  translated  fits. 

thus    into     English    by    Whitley    Stokes,  The  poet's    son  Onchu,  a   forceful 

LL.D.  : —  man, 

A  poet  vigorous  in  quelling  tribes. 

<Arlon,ou,o  An  Onchon  At  the  place  where  the  tree  falls, 

Ittofcic  each  nounAile  It  is  not  easy  to  carry  off  its  top." 
pncnirc  cAnAir  leni 

j^rvoAn  cAm  Cmn^ocrAiLe.  Seethe  Scholion,  ibid.,  cxviii.    The  Com- 
mentator adds,  that  the   membro,    i.e.,  the 

"  A  spendid  declaring  of  Onchu  :  well  fares  relics  of  Finan  the  Leper  and  of  Onchu  are 

every  one  who  entreats  him  :  he  loved  dili-  in  one  place,  i.e.,  in  Cluain  Mor. 

gence  as  to  Christ,  Garban  the  fair  of  Cenn-  4   It   is   observed,   likewise,  that   in  one 

saile." — "Transactions  of  the   Royal  Irish  religious  sepulchre  he  was  with  Finan.    See 

Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  Series,  vol.  i.,  ibid.,  p.  cxvii. 

On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus,  p.  ex.  s  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxviii. 

2  See  an  account   of  him  in  the  Second  6  See  Colgan's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Iliber- 

Volume  of  this  work,  at  the  8th  of  February,  nice,"  viii.  Februarii,  Vita  S.  Onchuonis,  n. 

Art.  i.  2,  p.  277. 

M 


x  78  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  9. 


St.  Blathmac  1  was  celebrated  there,  on  the  9th  day  of  July.  Blathmac's 
name  is  still  remembered  at  the  church,  but  his  festival  is  no  longer  cele- 
brated.8 According  to  Colgan,  this  saint  was  venerated  at  Killonchon,  Cor- 
comroe  territory,  on  the  9th  and  14th  of  July. 9  The  Bollandists  take  no 
notice  of  him,  at  the  9th  of  July.  The  Martyrology  of  Donegal IO  records 
him,  however,  at  this  date,  as  Onchu,  son  of  Blathmac,  in  Dalg-Cias,  i.e.,  of 
Rath  Blathmaic.  The  meaning  of  this  word  is  Blathmac's  Fort.  The  time 
of  this  saint  cannot  be  determined,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  during  or  before 
the  eighth  century. 


Article  III. — St.  Garbhan,  of  Kinsealy,  County  of  Dublin,  or 
of  Kinsale,  County  of  Cork.  In  a  previous  article,  at  this  date,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  there  is  mention  made  of  Garbdn  by  our  earliest  pre- 
served Martyrology — that  of  St.  ^ngus  the  Culdee.1  He  is  there  eulogized 
for  his  diligence  in  the  service  of  Christ,  and  he  is  characterized  as  the  fair 
of  Cennsaile.  Whether  or  not  the  latter  description  have  reference  to  his 
complexion  or  to  the  qualities  of  his  mind  may  be  questioned.  The  name  of 
Garban,  priest,  Cinntsaile,  occurs  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,2  at  the  9th 
of  July.  In  the  Calendar  of  Cashel,  this  saint  has  been  commemorated,  as 
likewise,  in  other  Martyrologies.  His  parents  appear  to  have  been  Lugad, 
the  father,  and  Canneria,  his  mother.3  This  couple  had  six  sons,  besides  St. 
Garbhan.4  It  is  thought  to  be  probable,  that  this  was  the  holy  man,  men- 
tioned in  the  Life  of  St.  Kevin,*  Abbot  of  Glendalough,  and  who  lived  near 
Athcliath,  which  lay  in  the  northern  part  of  Leinster.  Colgan  6  seems  to 
identify  this  saint  with  that  one  mentioned  in  the  Life  of  St.  Kevin,  and  who  is 
said  to  have  lived  near  Dublin.  It  was  called  Dubh-lein  ? — now  Dublin — in 
the  Scottish  or  Irish  tongue.  Its  Latin  signification  is  said  to  have  been 
Nigra  thermae,  or  in  English  "  blackbath."8  The  situation  of  Kinsealy,  near 
Dublin  city,  would  appear  to  favour  such  a  conjecture.9  If  so,  he  was  a 
contemporary  and  a  disciple  to  St.  Kevin.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal,10 
at  this  same  date,  he  is  recorded,  as  Garbhan,  priest,  of  Ceann-saile,  on  the 
west  side  of  Surd,  or  in  the  west  of  Erin.  This  means,  that  the  author  was 
not  sure  to  which  Ceann-saile  he  should  refer  St.  Garbhan,  whether  to  Kin- 

7  Probably  Dr.  O'Donovan  meant,  Onchu,  6  See  **  Acta  Sanctorum  Hiberniae,"  xxvi. 
son  of  Blathmac.                                                   Martii.  De  S.  Garvano  Abbate,  nn.  2,  3,  4, 

8  See  Dr.   O'Donovan's  "Annals  of  the       p.  751. 

Four  Masters,"  vol.  v.,  n.  (x),   pp.   1574,  7  A  Manuscript  thus  describes  it:  "  Et 

1575.  ipsa  civitas  potens  et  belligera  est,  in  quo 

»  See  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiberniae,"  viii.  semper  habitant  viri  asperrimi  in  proeliis,  et 

Februarii,  Vita  S.  Onchuonis,  n.  2,  p.  277.  peretissimi  in  classibus." 

10  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  8  See  Walter  Harris'  "  History  and  Anti- 

190,  191.  quities   of  the   City    of  Dublin   from    the 

Article  hi. —  x    See  "Transactions  of  Earliest  Accounts,"  chap,  ix.,  pp.  164,  165. 

the  Royal  Irish  Academy,"  Irish  Manuscript  He  quotes  a  Latin  passage,  transcribed  from 

Series,  vol.  i.     On  the  Calendar  of  Oengus,  the  Manuscript  called  Codex  Kilkenniensis, 

p.  ex.  cap.  30.     This  is  probably  the  well  known 

a  Edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Kelly,  p.  xxix.  copy  thus  denominated,  and   preserved  in 

3  According  to  ^Engus  the  Culdee,  in  his  Marsh's  Library. 

attributed  "Opuscula,"  lib.  iv.,  cap.  66.  9  There  is  an  engraving  of  Kinsealy  old 

4  With  this  statement,  the  Sanctilogium  church  by  George  A.  Hanlon,  from  a  sketch 
Genealogicum,  cap.  xx.,  accords.  See  Col-  by  John  J.  Sloane,  C.E.  The  latter  gentle- 
gan's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiberni*,"  xxvi.  man  also  furnishes  a  description  of  it  in  his 
Martii.  De  S.  Garvano  Abbate,  nn.  2,  3, 4,  Antiquarian  Rambles  in  the  County  of 
p.  751.  Dublin.       See  "Irish  Literary  Gazette," 

5  See  his  Life,  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  this  vol.  ii.,  pp.  243,  244. 

work,  at  the  3rd  of  June,  Art.  i.  I0  Edited   by   Drs.    Todd  and    Reeves, 


July  9.] 


LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS. 


i79 


sealy,  at  the  west  of  Swords,  or  to  Kinsale,  in  the  west — but  rather  in  the 
south — of  Ireland.  If  we  are  to  understand,  this  latter  had  been  the  place,  the 
town  and  parish  so  called11  are  situated  in  the  barony  of  Kinsale,  in  the  county 
of  Cork,  East  Riding.  A  part  of  the  town  is  in  Ringcunan  parish."  There 
a  prominent  rock  advances  far  out  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  it  is  known  as 
the  Old  Head  of  Kinsale.  The  isthmus  connecting  it  with  the  mainland 
had  been  blocked  by  a  strong  castle  x3  and  its  fortifications,  now  in  ruins.1* 


De  Courcey's  Castle,  Old  Head  of  Kinsale,  County  Cork. 

These  appear  to  have  been  erected  by  John  de  Courcey,15  who  inherited  the 
circumjacent  country,  owing  to  intermarriage  with  the  family  of  Cogan,  who 
are  deemed  to  have  obtained  the  lands  by  right  of  conquest  from  the  Irish.16 
However,  it  is  said  to  have  had  a  more  ancient  repute  as  a  royal  residence  of  the 
Irish  kings,  and  to  have  been  known  as  Duncearma.1?  The  present  town  of 
Kinsale  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bandon  River,18  where  the  sea  meets  it,  and 
furnishes  a  good  harbour.  It  is  also  picturesquely  situated, x9  and  it  is  stated 
to  have  had  an  ancient  history  connected  with  it.  According  to  Colgan,20 
a  disciple  of  St.  Ailbe — called  a  good  master  and  named  Goban— is  said  to 
have  had  a  monastery  dedicated  to  him  at  Kennsaile.    It  has  been  assumed, 


pp.  190,  191. 

"  They  are  shown,  on  the  "Ordnance 
Survey  Townland  Maps  for  the  County  of 
Cork,"  sheets  112,  125. 

13  See  ibid.,  sheets  97,  98,  ill,  1 12,  125. 

13  Its  dimensions  with  a  wood  engraving 
may  be  found  in  "  The  Irish  Penny  Maga- 
zine, "  vol.  ii.,  No.  2,  January,  nth,  1834, 
pp.9,  10. 

14  The  accompanying  illustration  from  an 
approved  drawing  has  been  sketched  by 
William  F.  Wakeman  on  the  wood,  en- 
graved by  Mrs.  Millard. 

15  See  "  Parliamentary  Gazetteer  of  Ire- 
land," vol.  ii.,  p.  569. 

16  A  very  full  and  an  interesting  account 


of  the  Barony,  Parish,  Town,  and  Old  Head 
of  Kinsale,  may  be  there  found.     See  ibid., 
pp.  566  to  570. 
1  See  ibid.,  p.  570. 

18  Its  position  is  well  defined  in  Dr. 
Charles  Smith's  "Ancient  and  Present 
State  of  the  County  and  City  of  Cork."  See 
County  Map  attached,  vol.  i.,  book  i., 
chap,  i.,  p.  15. 

19  A  copperplate  engraving  of  this  town 
from  the  Old  Fort  in  1750  is  to  be  found  in 
the  work  just  quoted.  See  book  ii.,  chap,  iii., 
p.  215. 

20 See  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hibernise,"  xxvi. 
Martii.  De  S.  Gobano  Abbate  de  Airdne 
Dairinnsi,  p.  750. 


180  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  9. 


that  this  place  should  be  in  Cork;  yet,  it  must  be  a  matter  still  left  for  conjecture. 
There  was  also  a  St.  Melteoc  or  Eltin"  connected  with  the  church  ofCluain, 
between  the  mountains  of  Crot  and  Mairge,  and  who  is  said  to  have  been 
buried  at  Kennsaile,  a  maritime  town  in  southern  Munster.22  The  references 
to  these  historic  statements  have  been  misunderstood  and  obscured  by  Arch- 
dall  ;23  and  no  less  so  by  Dr.  Charles  Smith,  who  makes  St.  Multeoc  or  Eltin 
the  same  as  a  supposed  female  saint  Multosia  or  Multos,  to  whom  the  parish 
church  of  Kinsale  is  stated  to  have  been  dedicated  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury.2'* Here,  too,  it  is  related,  that  there  had  been  an  Abbey  for  Carmelites 
or  White  Friars  in  that  century,  founded  by  Robert  Fitz-Richard  Balrain,  a.d. 
1334,  a  part  of  the  ruins  remaining  on  the  north  end  of  the  town.2*  The 
prior,  Stephen  Prene,  obtained  a  quarter  of  land  in  Liscahan,  a.d.  1350,26 
from  the  founder.  The  Protestant  church  at  Kinsale 2?  has  been  modernized, 
and  it  occupies  the  site  of  the  fourteenth  century  structure.  The  history  of 
this  town  is  fraught  with  considerable  interest. 


Article  IV. — Reputed  Feast  of  a  St.  Molruan.  The  Bollandists 
notice  a  certain — or  rather  an  uncertain — St.  Molruan,  Archbishop  and 
Legate  in  Ireland,  at  the  9th  of  July,1  on  the  authority  of  Father  Henry  Fitz- 
simon.  A  sort  of  Life  had  been  given  to  them,  but  partaking  of  a  legendary 
character  in  their  estimation.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  holy  man,  to  have 
undergone  persecutions  and  accusations,  to  have  gone  to  Rome  so  that  he 
might  exculpate  himself  from  some  charges,  to  have  returned  again  to  Ireland, 
where  full  of  years  and  of  merits  he  passed  to  the  rewards  of  eternal  life,  on 
the  9th  of  July.  The  Bollandists  sought  eagerly  for  accounts  of  him  in 
various  Irish  and  Scotch  Calendars,  at  this  date,  but  in  vain.  It  seems  to 
us,  he  must  have  been  confounded  with  St.  Maelruan  of  Tallagh,  already 
noticed,  at  the  7th  of  this  month.  Afterwards,  the  Bollandists  notice  an 
entry  of  the  names  Germanus,  Kilianus,  Ribianus,  Totnanus  and  Brocardus,9 
as  having  been  placed  in  the  extended  Kalendar  of  Father  Henry  Fitzsimon. 
Among  the  foregoing,  Dempster  alone  notes,  Ribianus  as  a  Bishop,  but,  the 
Bollandists  desire  to  have  further  knowledge  before  including  them  on  their 
list  of  saints.3  There  is  a  Brocadius,  no  doubt,  mentioned  by  Colgan,*  in  his 
Acts  of  St.  Patrick,  but  the  Bollandists  cannot  readily  admit,  that  all  the 
Irish  Apostle's  relatives  had  been  classed  among  the  saints. 


•Article  V. — St.  Condmac  or  Connmach,  of  Ath-Blair,  or  Atha- 

21  His  feast  has  been  assigned  to  Decern-  Dublin  Penny  Journal,"  vol.  ii.,  No.  90,  pp. 

ber  nth.  297,  298. 

"See  ibid.,  x.   Martii.    De  S.    Sedonio  Article  iv.—  ■  See  "  Acta  Sanctorum," 

Episcopo  S.  Senani  Discipulo,  p.  573,  and  tomus  ii.,  July  ix.     Among  the  pretermitted 

n.  4.  saints,  p.  668. 

23  See  "  Monasticon  Hibernicum,"  p.  74.  2  They  state  "  Bcllandm  alicubi  legit  pro 

2*  See  "  Ancient  and  present  State  of  the  Germano  et    Bibiano,    Rimanus    et    Mul- 

County  and  City  of  Cork,"  vol.  i.,  book  ii.,  tonus;"     yet,    however    their     names    be 

chap,  iii.,  p.  219.  changed,  none  of  these  belong  to  the  pre- 

2s  See  ibid.  sent  day.     About  Germanus  they  treated  at 

86  According  to  Sir  James  Ware's  Manu-  the    3rd  of  July,  and  about   Kilianus  and 

scripts,   vol.    34,   p.   108.     See    Archdall's  Totnanus  on  their  proper  day,  the  8th  of 

"Monasticon    Hibernicum,"     p.    74,    and  July. 

n.  (p).  3See  "ActaSanctorum,"tomus  ii.Julii  ix. 

27  There  is  a  woodcut  representing  this  Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  pp.  668,  669, 

building,  with  some  historic  notices,  in  "The  4  See    Colgan's  "Trias    Thaumaturga," 


July  io]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  181 


silain.  In  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh,1  at  the  9th  of  July,  a  festival  is 
recorded  in  honour  of  Condmac,  of  Atha  silain.  The  place  of  this  saint  is 
differently  denominated  in  the  later  Calendar.  The  Martyrology  of  Donegal,8 
at  the'same  date,  enters  the  name  as  Connmach,  of  Ath  Blair.  We  have  not 
been  able  to  identify  his  place  under  either  denomination. 


Article  VI. — Reputed  Feast  of  St.  Germanus,  Bishop,  and  of 
others.  The  various  compilations  of  Floratius,  Molanus,1  and  Henry  Fitz- 
simon,2  enter  St.  Germanus,  Bishop,  at  the  9th  of  July.3  The  Bollandists 
notice  him,  at  this  same  date,  but  only  the  authority  of  Greven's  additions  to 
the  Martyrology  of  Usuard  ;  yet,  they  know  not  who  that  saint  can  be,  if  not 
the  Germanus,  whose  commemoration  has  been  already  treated  of,  at  the 
3rd  day  of  July/  Jocelyn  has  some  account  of  him,  in  his  Acts  of  St. 
Patrick,*  and  as  stated,  we  have  recorded  whatever  can  be  known  about  him.6 


Cent!)  JBap  of  3ulp* 


ARTICLE  I.— ST.  ETTO,  HETTO,  OR  ETHON,  BISHOP  AND  CONFESSOR. 
[SEVENTH    CENTURY.] 

AFTER  the  Church  of  Christ  had  been  founded,  and  when  Christians 
were  redeemed  through  his  precious  blood ;  then  her  illustrious  chil- 
dren, whether  as  Martyrs,  Apostles,  Doctors,  Virgins  or  Confessors,  began  to 
exhibit  those  virtues  and  labours,  which  served  to  extend  her  sway  over  the 
hearts  of  men.  Several  holy  missionaries  banded  together  for  this  purpose, 
and  left  the  shores  of  Ireland  for  more  distant  countries.  Among  those  was 
Etto,  and  he  became  a  saint  illustrious  for  his  apostolic  zeal  and  miracles. 
The  particulars  of  his  Acts  are  only  to  be  gleaned  from  popular  tradition, 
nor  do  we  know  that  any  very  ancient  written  accounts  regarding  him  are  to 
be  found.  No  doubt,  there  are  several  inaccuracies  that  have  been  incor- 
porated with  the  more  authentic  accounts,  yet  even  for  those  incorrect  state- 
ments, reasons  may  be  assigned,  and  allowances  must  be  made. 

A  Life  of  this  saint  has  come  down  to  us,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  be  a  very 
ancient  one.  The  date  of  its  composition  is  uncertain,  and  it  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  composition  of  a  monk  at  Liesse.1     It  has  a  Prologue  of  the 


Quinta  Appendix  ad  Acta  S.  Patricii,  cap.  *  See    "Acta    Sanctorum,"    tomus   ii., 

iv.,  p.  230.  Julii  ix.  Among  the  pretermitted  saints,  pp. 

Article    v.—  ■    Edited    by    Rev.  Dr.  667, 668. 

Kelly,  p.  xxix.  s  See    Colgan's   "Trias    Thaumaturga," 

2  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp.  Sexta  Vita  S.   Patricii,  cap.  xcii. 

190,  191.  6  In  the  present  volume,  at  July  the  3rd, 

Article  vi. —  ■  In  Vita  S.  Eloquii.  Art.  i. 

3  See    "Catalogus  aliquorum  Sanctorum  Article    1.— ■  In  the  Latin  language, 
Iberniae.  this  town  is  written  Lsetiae  or  Letia,  in  Han- 

3    See    O'Sullevan    Beare's     "Historice  nonia  or  Nerviorum.     It  is  generally  known 

Catholicse  Iberniae  Compendium,"  tomus  i.,  at    present    among    the    French-speaking 

lib.  iv.,  cap.  xii.,  p.  54.  people  as  Liessies  or  Liessy,   in  the  diocese 


1 8  2  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  i  o 


Author,  and  then  follows  a  narrative  of  public  events,  connected  with  the 
period  of  Etto's  arrival  on  the  Continent,  as  also  the  subsequent  traditional 
accounts,  regarding  his  mission  and  career.  His  offices  and  the  Martyrologies 
hardly  serve  to  throw  any  additional  lights  on  his  history.  In  French,  this 
saint  is  called  Z€ ;  but,  in  the  ancient  Lives,  his  name  is  written  Etto  or 
Ethon.  Sometimes,  too,  he  is  named  Hetto.3  It  was  Colgan's  purpose  to 
have  published  his  biography,  at  the  ioth  of  July.3  In  the  "  Natales  Sanc- 
torum Belgii,"*  there  are  some  notices  of  St.  Etto,  as  also  in  Miraeus.s  The 
Bollandists  have  special  accounts  of  this  holy  man.6  A  commentary  7  pre- 
cedes his  Acts.  These  follow,  with  the  author's  prologue,  in  two  chapters 
and  seventeen  paragraphs.  His  Acts  have  been  published  from  a  Manu- 
script,8 belonging  to  the  Abbey  of  Marchiennes.  This  has  been  collated  with 
two  other  Codices ;  one  of  these  having  been  in  the  hands  of  D.  Prued- 
homme,  a  Canon  of  Cambrai,  and  another  belonged  to  the  collection  at 
Alnensis.  In  the  "  Acta  Sanctorum  Belgii,"?  Etto  is  particularly  commemo- 
rated. Some  notices  of  him  are  to  be  met  with,  in  the  work  of  Bishop 
Challoner.10  The  Petits  Bollandistes  also  have  an  account  of  St.  Etton  or 
Z£,  at  this  date."  There  is  a  notice  of  St.  Etto,  likewise,  in  Rev.  S.  Baring- 
Gould's  "  Lives  of  the  Saints.''12 

St.  Etto  was  a  native  of  Ireland  ;*3  but,  regarding  his  family  descent,  and 
earlier  years,  we  have  no  account.  He  was  probably  born  in  the  early  part 
of  the  seventh  century.  There  he  was  instructed  in  a  knowledge  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  trained  in  the  principles  of  virtue. **  This  holy  person  is  said  to 
have  been  in  Britain,  to  confer  with  many  saints,  that  then  flourished  in  these 
Islands ;  but,  whether  he  joined  St.  Fursey I5  there  or  in  Ireland  is  not 
known.16  As  we  have  already  seen,  in  the  Life  of  St.  Fursey,1?  that  a  certain 
Count   named  Madelgarius,18  surnamed  Vincent,    and  who  had   gone  to 


of  Cambrai.     Here  there  was  a  celebrated  I3  See    Bishop    Challoner's     "  Britannia 

Abbey  of  Benedictines.  It  is  situated  on  the  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  p.  31. 

River  Helpra,  not  far  distant  from  Avesnes.  I4   See    Les   Petits   Bollandistes,    "Vies 

See  Hadrianus  Valesius,   "  Notitia   Gallia-  des  Saints,"  tome  viii.,  xe  Jour  de  Juillet, 

rum,"  p.  260.  p.  238. 

■  As  by  Mirseus,  and  byBaldericus,  Bishop  IS  See  his  Life,   in  the  First  Volume  of 

of  Toumay  and  Namur.  this  work,  at  the  16th  of  January,  Art.  i. 

3  This  we  find,  from  the  posthumous  list  l6  Mabillon  merely  alludes  to  him  in  a 
of  his  Manuscripts.  passing  manner,    and   adds:     "  De  beato 

4  In  two  paragraphs,  at  the  loth  of  July,  Ettone  nudum  fere  noraen  nobis  relictum 
pp.147,   !48.  est." — "  Annales    Ordinis    S.    Benedicti," 

s  See  "Fasti  Belgici  et  Burgundici,"  pp.  tomus  i.,  lib.  xiv.,  sect,  iv.,  pp.  411,  412. 

391  to  394.  '7  See  the  First  Volume  of  this  work,  at 

6  See  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  tomus  iii.,  Julii  January  16th,  Art.  i.,  chap.  v. 

x.     De  S.   Ettone  Ep.  et  Conf.   Leetiis  in  l8  According   to   the   Acts   of  our  saint, 

Belgio,  pp.  48  to  62.  Madelgarius  was  born  in  Hibernia  of  noble 

?  In  five  sections,    and   forty-three  para-  parents,  and  he  came  to  Fiance,  where  he 

graphs.  married  Waldetrude,  daughter  of  the  noble 

8  This  had  been  sent  to  the  Bollandists  in  Walbert,  and  for  a  long  time  he  served  in  the 
1636,  by  D.  Christian  le  Roy.  It  has  been  wars  of  King  Dagobert.  He  had  been  urged 
composed  in  a  diffuse  and  careless  historic  by  the  pious  Waldetrude,  to  separate  from 
fashion.  her,  and  to  lead  a  religious  life,  which  she 

9  See  vol.  iii.,  at  the  loth  of  July.  At  most  earnestly  desired  for  herself.  He 
Lrctiis,  in  Hannonia.  There  is  a  Historico-  affected  to  yield  to  her  wishes,  but  leaving 
critical  commentary,  by  Cornelius  Smet,  in  her,  he  returned  to  Ireland,  where  he  in- 
three  sections,  pp.  666  to  682.  tended  to  take  another  wife.    Learning  this 

10  See  "Britannia  Sancta,"  part  ii.,  pp.  purpose,  Waldetrude  followed  her  husband 
31,  32.  to  Ireland,   with  some  companions,   where 

11  See  "Vies  des  Saints,"  tome  viii.,  she  exhorted  him  in  such  moving  words, 
xe  Jour  de  Juillet,  pp.   238,  239.  that  he  firmly  resolved  on  returning  with  her 

12  See  vol.  vii.,  July  ioth,  p.  261.  to  Prance,  where  both  of  them  afterwards 


July  io.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  183 


Ireland,1?  waited  upon  that  celebrated  missionary  in  England,  and  succeeded 
in  persuading  him  to  visit  Gaul,  where  he  afterwards  founded  the  monastery 
of  Lagny.  At  this  period,  that  country  was  just  beginning  to  recover  from 
the  devastations  of  the  Huns  and  Vandals,  with  other  barbarous  invaders.20 
With  his  brothers  Foillan 2I  and  Ultan,"  as  also  with  Mimbolus,a3  Eloquius,2* 
Bertuin,2s  Fredegandus,26  Adalgisus  2?  and  Gobban,28  disciples  ofSt.  Fursey,3? 
Etto  was  one  of  those  apostolic  preachers,  who,  in  the  seventh  century,  went 
forth  to  spread  the  Gospel  on  the  Continent.2*  They  are  said  to  have  accom- 
panied Madelgarius 3I  and  his  wife  St.  Waldetrude,32  when  these  returned  to 
France.  The  great  desire  of  the  holy  missionaries  was  to  visit  Rome,  in  the 
first  instance ;  most  probably  to  receive  the  necessary  jurisdiction  and 
approval,  for  the  tasks  which  they  had  proposed  to  accomplish.  About  the 
middle  of  the  seventh  century,  they  arrived  in  France,  and  Etto  thence  made 
a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  but  whether  in  company  with  St.  Fursey  or  not  seems 
to  be  uncertain.  While  he  was  visiting  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles,  it  is  said, 
that  he  received  episcopal  consecration. 33  By  Molanus,  he  is  styled 
"  Hiberniensis  Episcopus."3*  Afterwards,  he  returned  to  France.  With  St. 
Fursey,  it  is  stated,  that  Etto  lived  for  a  time  at  Lagny,35  and  that  he  carried 
the  word  of  God  afterwards  into  the  Low  Countries.  He  passed  into  those 
parts  with  six  other  companions,  and  in  the  company  of  St.  Waldetrude. 
Among  the  holy  men,  who  went  to  preach  in  the  Low  Countries  with  St.  Etto, 
or  about  the  same  time,  was  St.  Bertuin,  a  Bishop.  He  built  an  oratory,  at 
Maloigne,36  upon  the  Sambre.  After  his  return  from  Rome,  Etto  chose  for 
his  abode  a  solitary  place,  near  the  little  river  Corbriol.  Like  many  of  the 
primitive  saints,  he  had  a  Divine  inspiration,  that  he  was  destined  to  evange- 
lize the  people,  in  that  part  of  the  diocese  of  Cambrai.  St.  Etto  settled  on  a 
little  stream  at  Thierache,  near  the  town  of  Avesnes.  There  he  cleared  away 
the  brambles,  and  built  a  cell  for  his  occupation. 

At  first,  he  experienced  some  difficulties  and  opposition,  owing  to  a  man 
named  Jovinus,  who  laid  claim  to  the  land,  he  being  unwilling  that  a  stranger 

entered  the  religious  state.  a6  On  the  17th  of  July,  his  festival  occurs 

x»  The  writer  of  St.  Etto's  Life  thus  de-  s?  See  his  Life,  at  the  2nd  of  June, 

scribes  it  positions  and  states  :  "  Est  autem  28  His  feast  is  not  correctly  known. 

Hyberniaproxima  Britannia?  Insula,   spatio  29  See  Colgan's  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiber- 

terrarum  angustior,  sed  situ  fcecundior.   Hsec  niae,"  xvi.  Januarii,  Appendix  ad  Acta  S. 

ab  Africo  in  Boream  porrigitur,  cujus  partes  Fursaei,  cap.  vi.,  p.  96. 

priores  ab  Hibernia  et  Cantabrico  oceano  3°  We  are  not  to  take  in  a  too  literal  sense 

includuntur."  the  statement  of  some  writers  that  all  the 

20  At  a.d.  407,  Miraeus  writes,  "in-  foregoing  were  brothers  of  St.  Fursey,  ex- 
numerabiles  et  ferocissimae  nationes  univer-  cept  in  a  religious  sense.  Even  the  writer 
sas  Gallias  occuparunt.  Quidquid  inter  of  our  saint's  Acts,  alluding  to  persons 
Alpes  et  Pireneum  est,  quod  Oceano  et  named  in  the  text,  observes,  "  licet  de  omni- 
Rhodano  includitur,  Quadus,  Vandalus,  bus  non  simus  certi,  utrum  fuerunt  carnali 
Sarmata,  Alani,  Gepides,  Heruli,  Saxones,  nativitate  germani,"  &c. 
Burgundiones,  Alemanni  et  hostes  Pannonii  3I  See  further  notices  of  him,  at  July  14th 
vastarunt." — "Rerum  Belgicarum  Chroni-  — his  feast-day— in  the  present  volume, 
con,  ab  Julii  Caesaris  in  Galliam  Adventu,  32  See  her  Life,  in  the  Fourth  Volume  of 
usque  ad  vulgarem  Christi  Annum   1636,"  this  work,  at  the  9th  of  April,  Art.  i. 

&c.     Antverpiae,  1636,  fol.  33  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,   "  Vies  des 

21  His  feast  occurs,  at  the  31st  of  Octo-  Saints,"    tome  viii.,    xe  Jour    de    Juillet, 
ber.  p.  238. 

22  At  the  1st  of  May,  his  feast  is  com-  34  See  "Natales  Sanctorum  Belgii,"  at 
memorated.  Julii  x. 

33   His  festival   is  held,  on  the   18th  of  35  See  Rev.  Dr.  Lanigan's  "Ecclesiastical 

November.  History  of  Ireland,"  vol.  ii.,  chap,  xvi.,  sect. 

I     3*  His  Acts  are  at  the  3rd  of  December.  x.,  p.  462,  and  n.  98,  p.  464. 

25  His  feast  is  on  the  nth  of  Novem-  3*  Also  called  Maconia,  in  the  territory  of 

ber.  Liege. 


i84  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [July  io. 


should  take  possession  of  it.  Jovinus  railed  at  the  holy  man,  nor  would  he 
enter  upon  any  terms  of  compromise,  until  convinced  by  a  miracle,  that  he 
should  yield,  and  make  an  humble  apology  to  Etto.  There  our  saint  erected 
a  church,  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Peter,  chief  of  the  Apostles.  He  used  to 
visit  the  Abbey  of  Hautmont,  where  under  St.  Ansbert,3?  Madelgarius  lived  j 
and  there  he  niet  St.  Amandus,38  St.  Wasno,  and  St.  Humbert.39  There,  too, 
St.  Ursmar  <°  and  his  assistant  bishop  Erminus  -*1  met  him ;  as  also  St. 
Wasnulph,*2  St.  Gissen/3  St.  Aldegunde,^  and  St.  Gertrude/s  Besides  these, 
St.  Foillan  and  St.  Ultan  came  to  meet  him  from  the  monastery  of  Fosse,*6 
as  likewise  many  other  celebrated  fathers  of  the  Church,  who  were  living  in 
France  during  his  time. 

Throughout  all  that  region,  St.  Etto  zealously  laboured  to  spread  the 
Gospel  seed.  As  a  light  placed  on  a  pedestal  cannot  be  hidden,  so  did  the- 
fame  of  his  virtues  spread  on  all  sides.  To  the  place  of  his  abode  came 
numerous  visitors,  to  ask  his  counsel  in  spiritual  affairs,  as  also  to  obtain  the 
succours  of  religion.  But,  Etto  was  exceedingly  humble  in  his  own  estima- 
tion, nor  could  he  bear  that  others  should  think  highly  concerning  him.  One 
of  the  miracles  recorded  of  our  saint  is  that  one  day,  and  while  walking  in  a 
field,  he  saw  a  mute  cow-herd  sleeping.  Touching  him  gently  with  a  staff, 4? 
the  man  arose,  and  immediately  found  the  use  of  speech.  Fiscau  or  Fescau,48 
afterwards  a  priory,  and  depending  on  the  Abbey  of  Liessy,  near  Avesnes,  in 
Hainault,  was  the  place  noted  in  connexion  with  St.  Etto's  demise.  Here  he 
lived  for  a  considerable  time,  constantly  engaged  in  prayer,  and  crucified  to 
the  world.  Daily  did  he  offer  the  Holy  Victim  in  Sacrifice  to  the  Lord. 
He  became  a  father  of  the  poor,  a  protector  of  the  widow,  an  aid  of  the 
orphan,  a  consoler  of  those  in  sorrow  and  tribulation,  aransomer  of  captives, 
and  an  intercessor  for  all  who  were  reduced  in  circumstances.  Finding  his 
last  days  on  earth  about  to  close,  St.  Etto  called  his  disciples  to  him,  and 
then  gave  them  special  instructions,  to  observe  the  precepts  of  charity  and 
peace  towards  one  another,  as  also  to  fulfil  with  great  care  the  duties  of  a 
Christian  and  a  religious  life.     Receiving  from  him  an  intimation,  that  he 

37  This  holy  bishop  has  a  festival  at  the  "  Mutus  ad  haec  coeptis   instabat  talia 
9th  of  February.  dictis  : 

38  His  feast  occurs  at  the  6th  of  February.  Quid   mirando  stupes?  metritis  quid 
From  him  the  town  of  St.  Amand  in  Flan-  vero  perhorres, 

ders  has  been  Darned.  Muta  tuis  tacitas  si  fudit  lingua  loque- 

39  See  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould's  "Lives  of  las? 

the  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  10,  p.  261.  Numne  recordarisDominantis,  Sancte 

40  His  feast  has  been  assigned  to  the  18th  fidelis 

of  April,  Angelecis  tremefacta  minis  quia  fatur 

*'  He  has  a  feast  at  the  25th  of  April,  but  asella 

it  does  not   seem  probable,  he  could  have  Sessori    per    verba   suo ;    linguaque 

been   a  bishop,  during  the  lifetime  of  St.  rudenti 

Etto.     He  died  in  the  year  737.  Edidit  humanas  animal  pecualeloque- 

42  His  feast  occurs  on  the  1st  of  Octo-  las? 

ber.  Immemor  es  rerum,  quoniam  Sapien- 

43  His  festival  is  at  the  9th  of  October.  tia  mutum 

44  Her  feast  is  at  the  30th  of  January.  Saepius  os  reserare  solet,  puerisque 
4s  Her  festival    is  held  on   the    17th  of                  disertas 

March.  Efficiens    linguas,    cogit  depromere 

46  The  fiollandists  remark,  that  all  the  laudes  ? 

holy  persons  named   in   the  Latin  Acts  of  Talia  fante  viro,  gratulans  venerabi- 

our  saint,  as  published  by  them,  may  be  com-  lis  Etto, 

bined   whether    as    contemporaries   or   as  Congrua  pro   facto  referebat  munia 

locals.  Christo." 

4?  This  anecdote  is  thus  introduced,  where 

related  in  St.  Etto's   Acts,   and   in   Latin  *'~    This  place  is  situated  on  the  confines 

hexameter  lines: —  of  Picardyand  Artois. 


July  io.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  185 


should  soon  leave  this  world,  his  monks  were  moved  to  tears,  and  they 
naturally  gave  way  to  sorrow.  However,  they  felt  consoled  when  Etto 
imparted  a  special  blessing  on  them.  For  immediate  preparation,  to  meet 
death,  the  holy  man  redoubled  his  prayers  and  vigils,  fasting  with  still  greater 
strictness  and  giving  alms  most  bountifully.  The  night  before  his  departure, 
Etto  had  a  vision  regarding  the  place  of  his  sepulture ;  and,  on  waking,  he 
desired  one  of  his  friends  to  meet  another,  who  was  then  in  an  adjoining  wood, 
preparing  a  coffin,  although  he  knew  not  for  whom  it  was  destined.  This 
coffin  that  man  was  engaged  in  bringing  away  on  a  cart,  drawn  by  a  bullock. 
The  coffin  was  brought  to  Etto,  who  had  desired  to  see  it.  Afterwards,  he 
devoutly  received  the  Body  and  Blood  of  our  Lord  in  the  Holy  Sacrament. 
Then,  in  the  presence  of  his  disciples,  who  were  standing  round,  his  soul 
passed  away  to  the  company  of  the  Holy  Angels  and  Saints.*0  He  is  said  to 
have  departed,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  His  death  has  been  assigned 
to  about  a.d.  670.5° 

On  the  10th  of  July,  various  ecclesiastical  authors  commemorate  St.  Etto. 
His  feast  has  been  noted,  in  the  Belgian,  Gallican  and  Benedictine  Martyr- 
ologies.  Thus,  Saussay,*1  Molanus,52  Miraeus,53  Ferrarius,**  Wion,  Dorgan, 
Menard,  Bucelin,55  Castellan,56  and  Baldericus,  have  notices  of  him.  In 
Convaeus'  list,  at  the  same  date,  we  find  Etto  set  down,  as  "  Epis.  Fasciaci  et 
Laetiarum  patronus."57  He  is  noticed,  likewise,  by  Thomas  Dempster^8 
His  festival  was  celebrated  on  this  day,  with  a  proper  office,  in  the  church  of 
Buinvilliers.59  There  is  extant,  likewise,  an  office  with  Eight  Lessons,60  and 
these  profess  to  give  the  Acts  of  St.  Etto,  but  some  of  them  are  only  foolish 
legends. 

The  forty-second  Bishop  of  Cambrai,  Nicholas,  in  1162,  issued  a  diploma, 
whereby  certain  possessions  were  confirmed  to  the  abbacy  of  Leisse,  with  a 
provision  for  the  maintenance  of  so  many  monks  as  might  be  required  to  serve 
the  church  of  Dompierre,  and  a  prohibition  against  removing  the  body  of 
the  saint  from  that  place.01  Other  donations  to  Dompierre  are  on  record.02 
The  monastery  of  Fiscau,  was  in  the  village  of  Dompierre.63  There  and  in 
all  the  surrounding  country,  St.  Etto's  name  was  held  in  very  special  rever- 


49  See  the  Bollandists'  "Acta  Sancto-  per  aliquot  annos  ibidem  haeserat, ML.  F." 
rum,"  tomus  iii.,  Julii  x.  De  S.  Ettone  Ep.  —Bishop  Forbes'  "  Kalendars  of  Scottish 
et  Conf.  Lsetiis  in  Belgio,  Vita,  &c,   pp.  Saints,"  p.  205. 

59  to  62.  S9  A  copy  of  this  was  sent  to  Father  John 

50  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des  Boland  by  Rev.  D.  Luytens,  sub-prior  and 
Saints,"  tome  viii.,  xe  Jour  de  Juillet,  p.  master  of  novices  at  Liesse,  in  the  month  of 
239.  November,  1637.     This  has  been  published 

s*  In  "  Martyrologium  Gallicanum."  in  all  its  chief  parts  by  Father  John  Pinius, 

s2  In  "  Natalibus  Sanctorum  Belgii."  who  has  edited  the  Acts  of  our  saint,  in  his 

53  In  Fastis  Belgicis  et  Burgundicis.  Previous  Commentary,  sect.  ii. 

54  In  "  Catalogus  Generalis  Sanctorum."  6o  These  were  copied  from  an  old  Manu- 
ss  In  their  several  Benedictine  Martyrolo-  script  Codex  belonging  to  the  Monastery  of 

gies.  St.  Lambert,  at  Liesse,  and  they  were  sent 

s6  In  his  Universal  Martyrology.  to  Father  Rosweyde,  by  Father  Peter  Lorig- 

57   See    O'Sullevan     Beare's    "  Historic  nairt,  Librarian  and   monk   of  that  place. 

Catholicse  Ibernias  Compendium,"  tomus  i.,  See  ibid.,  sect.  i. 

lib.  iv.,  cap.  x.,  p.  48.  6l  Allusion  is  made  to  this  charter  in  the 

s8  In  his  "  Menologium  Scoticum  "  thus  :  Chronicon  Lretiense. 

"  Laetiis  Ettonis   episcopi    et    confessoris,  62  See  the  Previous  Commentary  to  St. 

Germanise  infcrioris  Apostoli,  qui  in  Hiber-  Etto's  Acts  in  the  Bollandists'  "Acta  Sane- 

niamad  regenda  monasteria  concessit,  et  inde  torum,"  sect.  iii. 

in  Belgium  eductus  per  Maldegarum  Han-  63  Now  a  commune,  and  town  of  France, 

nonise  comitem,   qui   Sanctorum   albo  ad-  in    the    Department  of  Nord,    canton    of 

scriptus    Vincentius    dictus,    et   Hirlandiae  Avesnes.     See   "Gazetteer  of  the  World," 

gubernator  destinatus  ab  aula  a  rege  Pipino,  vol.  v.,  p.  43. 


1 86  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  [J  uly  i o. 


ence.6«  However,  the  disturbances  occasioned  by  the  new  Reformation 
caused  his  body  to  be  removed  to  a  place  of  greater  security.  His  relics 
were  translated  to  Mons,6*  with  those  of  other  saints,  during  the  wars  about 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  They  were  temporarily  placed  in  a 
house  of  refuge,  belonging  to  that  Abbey.66  Afterwards,  when  order  had 
been  restored,  St.  Etto's  remains  were  removed  to  the  Abbey  of  Liesse,  or 
Liessies,6?  a  suitable  receptacle  having  been  prepared  for  their  reception, 
while  the  coffin  or  shrine  was  newly  decorated  and  restored,  as  time's  effacing 
traces  had  begun  to  show  marks  of  fading  and  decay.  Other  smaller  reliqua- 
ries of  the  saint  were  repaired  at  the  same  time.  To  this  resting-place,  St. 
Etto's  body  was  translated,  by  Louis  de  Blois,  then  its  Abbot,  and  placed  in 
the  church  of  his  monastery,  on  the  22nd  day  of  June,  a.d.  1559. 68  This 
establishment  was  subsequently  an  abbey  of  Canons  Regular.  There  the  body 
was  kept,  with  great  veneration,  and  St.  Etto's  feast  has  become  a  great  solem- 
nity, on  the  anniversary  of  his  death,  iothof  July.  In  like  manner  is  he  com- 
memorated, in  the  priory  of  Fiscau.6^  On  that  day,  the  people  assembled  in 
great  numbers,  and  assisted  at  Mass,  while  a  vast  procession  on  foot  and  on 
horseback  accompanied  a  shrine  containing  the  relics  of  our  saint.  On  that 
day,  too,  the  people  abstained  from  servile  works,  regarding  it  as  a  superior 
feast.  The  office  of  his  Natalis  was  recited  in  the'parish,  and  it  was  sung  in 
the  monastery  of  Leisse,  during  the  entire  octave.?0  However,  in  the  church 
of  Dompierre,  the  body  of  St.  Etto  is  now  preserved,  and  there  is  a  tomb  on 
which  he  is  figured  with  a  mitre,  a  cross  in  his  hand,  and  clothed  in  episco- 
pal vestments.  At  some  distance  from  the  church,  there  is  a  fountain,  which 
bears  the  name  of  St.  Ze'.?1  In  the  parish  of  Dompierre,  for  many  ages  past, 
as  also  in  that  of  Buinvilliers,  diocese  of  Arras,  a  confraternity  has  been 
established  in  honour  of  St.  Ze\  The  latter  was  ordered  to  be  erected,  by 
the  bishop  of  Arras  in  a  letter,  written  June  16th,  1630;  but,  its  inauguration 
was  deferred,  owing  to  the  fact  of  two  churches  being  in  the  same  town — 
the  congregation  of  each  contending  for  their  respective  church  as  being  the 
parochial  one.  An  arm-bone  of  St.  Etto  is  preserved  at  Buinvilliers,  near 
Arras.?3  St.  Etto  is  represented  with  oxen  at  his  feet,  as  he  is  invoked 
by  cow-herds  and  cattle-drivers. 73  A  copperplate  engraving  of  this  character 
has  been  inserted  in  his  Acts,  as  furnished  by  the  Bollandists.74 

Since  the  time  St.  Etto  departed  from  this  life  to  our  Lord's  happy  inherit- 
ance, in  the  seventh  century,  the  people  who  lived  after  him  had  great  faith 
in  his  intercession.  Those  who  had  been  afflicted  with  various  diseases  were 
taught  to  believe,  that  through  a  devout  invocation  of  his  patronage,  the 
Almighty  would  be  pleased  to  remove  their  ailments  and  to  prolong  their 


6*  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,    "Viesdes  ?°  See  the  Bollandists'    "Acta    Sancto- 

Saints,"  tome  viii.,  xe  Jour  de  Juillet,  p.  239.  rum,"  tomus  iii.,  Julii  x.    De  S.  Ettone  Ep. 

65  See  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould's  "  Lives  of  et  Conf.    Laetiis  in  Belgio.     Commentarius 

the  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  10,  p.  261.  Pircvius,  sect,  iii.,  num.  16,  p.  53. 

•J6  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des  n  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des 

Saints,"   tome  viii.,   xe  Jour  de  Juillet,  p.  Saints,"  tome  viii,,    xe  Jour  de  Juillet,  p. 

239.  239. 

6?  Now  a  commune  and  town,  in  the  De-  ?2  See  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould's  "Lives  of 

partment  of  Nord,  France.    See  "  Gazetteer  the  Saints,"  vol.  vii.,  July  10,  p.  261. 

of  the  World,"  vol.  v.,  p.  730.  73  See  Very  Rev.  Dr.  F.  C.  Ilussenbeth's 

68  The  Bollandists  give  a  detailed  account  "  Emblems  of  Saints,"   edited  by  Rev.  Dr. 
of  the  foregoing  general  statements  in  their  Augustus  Jessopp,  p.  73. 

Previous  Commentary  to  the  Acts  of  our  74  See   "Acta   Sanctorum,"  tomus    iii., 

saint,  sect.  iv.  Julii  x.     De  S.  Ettone  Ep.  et  Conf.  Lcetiis 

69  See  Les  Petits  Bollandistes,  "  Vies  des  in  Belgio.     Commentarius  Prsevius,  sect,  ii., 
Saints,  "tome  viii.,  xeJour  de  Juillet,  p.  239.  p.  52. 


July  io.]  LIVES  OF  THE  IRISH  SAINTS.  187 


lives.    Even  he  was  supposed  to  hear  the  prayers  of  country  people,  who 
intreated  him  to  avert  distempers  from  their  cattle  and  other  animals. 


Article  II. — St.  Cuain  or  Cuan,  of  Airbhre,  in  Hy  Kinsellagh. 
At  the  10th  of  July,  the  festival  of  Cuan  is  found  in  the  "Feilire"  of  St. 
^Engus.1  A  commentary  annexed  states,2  that  he  was  Cuan  Airbre  in  Ui- 
Cennselaig,  and  he  is  the  same  as  Cuan  of  Maethail  Broccain  in  Desi  of 
Munster.  This  latter  place,  as  we  are  told,3  was  in  the  deaconate  of  Kill- 
barrimedin,  in  the  diocese  of  Lismore,  and  where  there  was  a  church  and  a 
well  dedicated  to  St.  Cuan.  The  Martyrology  of  Tallagh  <  registers  a  festival 
at  the  10th  of  July,  in  honour  of  Cuain  of  Airbir,  in  h  Cendselaigh.  The 
Martyrology  of  Marianus  O'Gorman  has  a  similar  identification,  according 
to  Father  O'Sheerin,  when  furnishing  some  particulars  regarding  the  present 
saint  to  the  Bollandists,*  who  allude  to  him  at  the  present  date.  We  are 
informed  by  Dr.  O'Donovan,  that  Kilquan,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  takes 
its  name  from  a  church  dedicated  to  the  present  holy  man.  Tobar  Cuan 
was  situated  five  chains  south-west  from  the  ruins  of  Kilcowanmore,  as  we 
learn  from  the  same  gentleman.  Notices  of  a  religious  man  named  Cuan  are 
introduced  in  the  Acts  of  St.  Fintan  of  Dunbleisque,  and  Colgan  thinks  he 
must  be  identical  with  the  present  saint.6  At  this  date,  in  the  Martyrology 
of  Donegal,?  is  recorded  Cuan,  of  Airbhre,  in  Ui  Ceinnsealaigh,  in 
Leinster ;  and  he  is  the  same,  we  are  told,  as  Cuan,  of  Maethail  Brogain,  in 
Deisi  Mumhan.  Among  many  other  saints  bearing  the  same  name,  he  is 
mentioned  by  Colgan.8  His  place  has  been  identified  9  with  Cuain  Airbhre, 
in  Hy  Kinsellagh,  a  place  now  called  Ballybrennan,  at  Kilcowanmore, 
barony  of  Ban  try,  and  county  of  Wexford.  This  part  of  Ireland,  it  would 
appear,  formerly  abounded  in  silver.10  The  Kalendar  of  Drummond  "  has 
notices  of  St.  Cuain,  at  the  10th  of  July. 


Article  III. — Deacon  Aedh,  of  Cuil-Maine,  now  Clonmany,  County 
of  Donegal.  Veneration  was  given,  at  the  10th  of  July,  to  Aodh  Deochain 
in  Crichmaine,  according  to  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh.1     Elsewhere  this 


Article     ii. — x     In    the      "  Leabhar  Januarii,   Vita  S.   Fintani  Abb.,  cap.   ix., 

Breac"  copy  is  the  following  rami  rendered  and  n.  17,  pp.  IX,  13. 

into  English  by  Whitley  Stokes,  LL.D. :—  *  Edited  by  Drs.  Todd  and  Reeves,  pp. 

192,  193. 

Slti-irco  cejwo  tni.rnb|AAich|\e  8  See  "Acta  Sanctorum  Hiberniae,